Virtual Chalking Explanation

Virtual chalking (or e-chalking) is an electronic process in the OPS-COM Enforce app that precisely mirrors the manual chalking of a vehicle's tire to monitor parking durations. Its primary purpose is to help enforcement officers efficiently track time-limited parking and automatically generate time-stamped photographic evidence for potential violations and appeals. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel.

Setup and Configuration

Virtual chalking is a native feature of the enforcement application and relies on system-defined grace periods to calculate parking violations.

Admin Side: Administrators must ensure that parking lots with timed parking or permit grace periods are properly configured within the backend system settings. This ensures the handheld application knows exactly how long a vehicle is allowed to remain parked after being chalked before it is flagged for a violation.

User Side (Enforcement Staff): Enforcement officers must have the OPS-COM Enforce app installed on their mobile device and be logged into an active account with device camera permissions fully enabled.

Using this Feature

Officers use the handheld application to record a vehicle's presence at a specific time. If the vehicle overstays the allowed time or grace period, the chalk record serves as undeniable proof for a violation.

For detailed instructions on the complete chalking workflow and how it interacts with ticketing, see the Violations and Chalking article.

Virtual Chalking a Vehicle

1. Tap Search Vehicles on the handheld device to look up the offending vehicle.

2. Capture the license plate using the LPR camera, text input, or voice command.

3. Tap the Virtual Chalk button to immediately create the time-stamped record and start the grace period timer.

4. Capture a contextual image of the vehicle manually if you entered the plate via text or voice. (LPR captures automatically take both a close-up of the plate and a contextual full-back image with time stamps).

Court-Admissible Evidence Virtual chalking provides a photographic image that is seamlessly attached to the violation. This evidence is generally acceptable in a court of law, provided the date and time stamp is clearly visible on the image.

Best Practices and Considerations

• Capture contextual images for manual entries: If you enter a plate via text or voice when chalking, you must manually take a contextual image to record the time stamp. The system only captures these automatically during LPR camera mode.

• Take multiple images when issuing violations: When capturing the plate a second time to issue the actual violation, take multiple images. Using both the timestamped image and the time printed on the ticket allows you to definitively calculate and prove the time the vehicle was parked. There is no limit to the number of images you can attach.

• Preserve your evidence: The chalked image automatically becomes part of the violation unless the patrol officer manually deletes the image. Never delete these images in the field, as they are crucial for dealing with client disputes and formal appeals.

• Leverage chalking for grace periods: Use virtual chalking to manage grace periods efficiently. For example, if a vehicle is parked and the owner is walking to a pay station to purchase a permit, chalking the vehicle allows a fair grace period for them to obtain it before a violation is issued on a subsequent patrol pass.