Cherry Hill Police Roll Out E-Ticketing

Cherry Hill officers won't have to break out a pen and pad the next time they ticket someone for reckless driving.

A new e-ticketing system, already in place in 18 patrol cars, is in its testing phase and will soon be rolled out to 50 cruisers, allowing for more efficiency both in issuing summonses and in how the department deploys officers around the township, officials said.

“By reducing the amount of time it takes to issue a ticket and complete the related paperwork, this system will enable us to allocate staffing and resources more efficiently, and gives officers more time to patrol Cherry Hill streets,” police Chief William Monaghan said. “It will ultimately allow us to take a more proactive approach to policing across the community.”

The new system cuts out redundancy—previously, officers had to manually enter a driver's information into the department's mobile computer system before hand-writing a ticket, then have that information verified by records personnel back at headquarters before it was manually entered into the municipal court computer system.

Now, with a quick scan of a driver's license, any Cherry Hill officer can look up a driver's information and print a ticket already populated with that information, as well as send versions of the summons to the municipal court system and police records, which will save time and help eliminate errors, Monaghan said.

It should also cut down on the time spent on any one traffic stop, Monaghan said, and make tickets easier to read.

“Public safety is a top priority for my administration, the Cherry Hill Police, and residents across this community,” Mayor Chuck Cahn said. “We are excited to see this new system in operation. Moving forward, both Chief Monaghan and I are committed to continuing to look for new and innovative ways to leverage technology that will make the Cherry Hill Police Department stronger and more efficient.”

E-ticketing was one of several points Monaghan outlined when he took over as chief to start 2014; he's also stressed using other technology, such as automated license plate readers, as part of the overall strategy to improve policing in the township.