First published: 22nd January 2014
Police are starting a six-month trial using Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) to issue electronic fixed-penalty tickets for illegal parking.
Eight PDAs with portable printers will be deployed and officers will key data including the vehicle registration number, the contravention code and the location before printing out a fixed-penalty ticket. Data would be uploaded to servers at Police stations later. Police said the scheme will comply with data-protection principles.
Transport Advisory Committee Chariman, Mr Larry Kwok, said, "The E-Ticketing scheme aims to enhance front-line police officers' efficiency in traffic enforcement. We welcome the Government's plan to conduct the trial". He added that no amendment to the law would be necessary.
The announcement did not give details of the capabilities or model of PDA to be used, however the description of the workflow does not suggest it is very advanced. Manual data entry can sometimes be error-prone, but modern features could improve on this. If the PDA had a camera, the officer could take a photo of the illegally parked vehicle showing the offence, and a second, close-up of the number plate as strong evidence. If the device had a capable processor, Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) software could enter the registration number to the ticketing software directly. A GPS device could supply accurate location and time data and embed it in the photos. With the addition of telecommunication capability, the PDA could report the offence to the Police station servers immediately. Fortunately, such devices already exist, they are often called "Smartphones".