Newport police are speeding up ticketing process

Newport Beach police officers will soon be exchanging their trusty ticket pads for a system that issues electronic citations.

The move puts the department in step with dozens of Orange County law enforcement agencies that recently started handing out e-tickets in place of traditional paper citations.

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the purchase of 35 handheld citation devices resembling a PalmPilot, as well as related hardware and software. The city will also pay to convert nine devices that the Police Department already owns to the Brazos Technology system.

All motor officers and regular patrol vehicles in Newport Beach will be equipped with the new system.

Police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella did not have an exact time for the rollout in Newport Beach, but she said officers there have used the technology on a trial basis so the transition should be smooth.

The new system doesn’t mean the traditional citation pads will completely disappear, Manzella said.

“The paper tickets will always be a backup option,” she said.

Officials said the e-tickets are more efficient than traditional handwritten ones because they reduce mistakes and paper consumption and save officers time when they get back to the station.

Under the e-ticket system, when stopping a driver, the officer will upload the violation data to Brazos Technology’s servers. Citations will be approved by Newport Beach police staff through a remote console before being electronically transmitted to Orange County Superior Court. The handheld device prints a receipt of the ticket for the driver.

“The electronic transfer makes it almost instantaneous,” Manzella said.

Irvine, Brea and Orange police departments first piloted the e-ticket system, which was created by Texas-based Brazos Technology in 2011. Brazos systems are used by more than 150 departments in six states, according to the company’s website.

After the test run proved to be successful, police agencies across Orange County began implementing the system.

Newport Beach previously budgeted $204,163 to purchase the equipment and upgrade existing devices. System maintenance is projected to cost $27,798 annually.