Electronic Warrant Module for Traffic Violations to be Piloted October
The electronic warrant module developed to address traffic violations will be piloted in four courts come October.
National Security Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, in making the disclosure, said that the module will generate traffic warrants electronically, thereby reducing the amount of time spent by court staff preparing tickets.
The aim is to improve efficiency and effectiveness in enforcement of the road traffic rules.
Minster Chang noted that while law-enforcement personnel, including members of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) have issued thousands of traffic tickets “those who… want to misbehave continue to do so”.
“As of October 2019, that will change, as we have made the effort to clear the congestion out of the ticket system and allow the courts to issue warrants in a timely manner, and the police are looking forward to it,” Minister Chang said.
He was speaking at a ceremony for the handover of 80 new motorcycles to the PSTEB, at the Office of the Police Commissioner, Old Hope Road, St. Andrew, on Friday (September 20).
The electronic warrant module is a value-added component of the newly revamped Traffic Ticket Management System (TTMS), which is expected to come on stream soon.
Dr. Chang said that the technical teams are ironing out the final details of the TTMS to ensure that there are no kinks when it is fully rolled out.
He noted that the TTMS, which is a centralised, web-based system, will improve the management of traffic tickets throughout the various stages – application of payments, demerit points, court fines, issuing of warrants, etc.
It will allow the PSTEB to access real-time reports that detail information on all the warrants that have been issued for an individual, placing the police in a better position to target repeat offenders, who have been able to avoid detection and apprehension under the previous system.
“The system will reflect real-time, from the point the ticket is issued to an offender, to when it is either being paid at the tax office or adjudicated in court,” Dr. Chang noted.
The Minister said he is looking forward to the positive impact that this new system will have in addressing road safety, public order and public safety.
“This will signal the seriousness with which we are treating with public order, road safety and traffic law enforcement. Motorists must be held accountable for their actions and the police must impose the appropriate punitive sanctions when necessary,” he noted.
Source: JIS
