Barcelona City Police choose Zebra RW 420 printers for processing fines and penalties
Barcelona City Police have adopted a new solution to speed up the bureaucratic processing of traffic fines. The benefits of implementing this new technology solution have been faster processing of traffic fines which can now be paid immediately via credit card. In addition data and information management has improved which has subsequently helped to reduce the amount of errors being made.
Barcelona City Council continues incorporating new technology to provide its local police force with more modern and efficient systems. In a recent project, the local police have started using a total of 330 PDAs and 150 Zebra RW 420 mobile printers.
The RW 420 mobile printer is connected to the PDA via Bluetooth® for printing fines and violations. The printer also contains a built in magnetic card and smart card reader which allows the user to log into the system using their identification card whilst also accepting credit card payments.
User friendly system
This new mobile technology solution allows more accurate data and information management by users, as the PDAs enable fast data entry and access to various tools and information. Users no longer have to carry bulky forms for fines and street maps. An added benefit is that the PDA software reduces the risk of errors in issuing fines as items such as street names are selected from drop-down menus, preventing the user from mis-typing or mis-spelling details
The new system also complies with new local legislation which came into effect in July 2006. It allows additional information to be added to the fine such as the loss of license or penalty points
Flexible payment options
Offenders are now given the option to immediately pay the fine with the new solution. This is because of a credit card reading capability that transfers the information via Bluetooth® to the PDA and completes the transaction via GPRS. The receipt is then printed by the Zebra RW 420 mobile printer and signed by the offender. This acts as the actual fine whilst including information on the credit card, validating the transaction.
The solution
The solution is based on the latest mobile printing and communications technology with features such as on-line access to the back-office fines system from the street via a GSM/GPRS network.
The PDA terminal is equipped with a digital camera to allow photographic evidence of offences to be recorded, and full communication options with Bluetooth, WI-FI and GSM/GPRS network access. The selection criteria which resulted in the Zebra RW 420 mobile printer being selected was due to its ruggedness, long life battery performance and Bluetooth communication enabling wireless communication between the printer and the PDA. A key feature in this application was the magnetic card and smart card (digital) reader capability offered by the printer which allowed agents to securely log into the system and accept credit card payments.
The benefits
By implementing this system the Barcelona City Police gained many benefits:
•Improved ability to react efficiently and effectively on the street with the mobile devices.
•Access to back-office information and other systems allowing the agents to run database searches as and when required
•Direct data entry of information into the City Council system which helped improve data processing and management in a real-time environment and subsequent faster response time.
•Optimised fine processing and accurate application of the amounts of fines
The City Council also gained benefits from the system:
•Faster collection of fines
•Better quality of data entry helped reduced appeals being made against fines
•Reduction in overall administration costs
•Reduction in fines becoming out of date before they are processed
Charles Rayner, spokesperson for Barcelona City Council said “Thanks to this new mobile solution, Barcelona City Council is going to be able to collect fines more effectively by making the bureaucratic process more flexible, minimising the possibility of the agent entering incorrect data on the form and speeding up the payment.”
David Parras, Business Development Manager of Zebra Technologies, Spain stated that “…adopting new mobile technologies could improve many areas of the management of the fines imposed by both the public and private operators of car parking areas. We are pleased that Barcelona City Police can benefit from the advantages provided by the use of Zebra technology printing solutions and expect to continue working together to develop more projects in the future.”
