The **Search Vehicles** function on the OPSCOM enforcement application is the primary tool for field personnel to look up vehicle information by license plate or VIN, verify parking permit status, and initiate enforcement actions. Its primary purpose is to allow enforcement officers to quickly retrieve actionable vehicle data in the field. This guide is intended for operators of OPSCOM handheld units.
## Setup and Configuration The Vehicle Search function is a core, native component of the handheld application and does not require any special administrative configuration or backend setup to function. **Admin Side:** No setup is required. Simply ensure your device is actively connected to a network to receive real-time data, though offline cached searches are supported.**Visual Cues and Status Indicators** A colored dot at the top of the search panel indicates the device's current connection status: **Green Dot:** The unit is actively connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network (3G/LTE). **Yellow Dot:** The unit is not connected. Searches can still be performed using cached data, but the information may not be real-time.
## Using this Feature Enforcement personnel can use this feature to query vehicles using manual text entry, voice commands, or the device's camera for optical character recognition. ### Performing a Vehicle Search Tap **Vehicle Search** from the main menu and use one of the three methods below to enter vehicle information. 1. Select a **Parking Lot Group** in the drop-down menu 2. Select a **Parking Zone** in the drop-down menu **Text Search** 1. Tap the text field on the Vehicle Search screen to activate the on-screen keypad. 2. Enter the full license plate number or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). 3. Tap the **Search** button. **Voice Search** 1. Tap the **microphone** icon to activate the voice recognition feature. 2. Clearly speak the license plate number when the prompt appears. The system will transcribe the speech directly into the search field. 3. Tap the **Search** button. **LPR and OCR Camera Search** 1. Tap the **camera** icon to enter License Plate Recognition (LPR) search mode. 2. Position the device's camera so the vehicle's license plate is aligned within the on-screen rectangle. 3. Tap and Hold the screen to capture an image of the plate. 4. Tap the correct plate number from the resulting list of possibilities to initiate the search. ### Reviewing Search Results After a successful search, the vehicle and permit details will appear below the search area. Tapping on the vehicle record expands a yellow ribbon, revealing available actions for that specific vehicle. You can also tap directly on the permit information displayed under the license plate for a quick view of its expiry details. ### Available Actions and Buttons - **Virtual Chalk:** Tap this button to apply a virtual chalk to the vehicle, logging its current location and time for time-limit enforcement. - **Issue Violation:** Tap this button to proceed directly to the violation issuance screen for this specific vehicle. - **Details:** Tap this button to view a comprehensive screen displaying all permit and vehicle details. --- ## Best Practices and Considerations ## - **Connect to a network when possible:** **While offline searches are possible thanks to the device's data cache, always connect to a network when possible.** This ensures you are working with the most current, real-time permit and violation data. - **Optimize your camera scans:** **For best results with the LPR and OCR camera search, ensure the license plate is well-lit, clean, and fills as much of the alignment rectangle as possible.** - **Reduce audio interference:** **For the most accurate voice search results, speak clearly in an environment with minimal background noise.**