Patrol deputies equipped with new system

Douglas County sheriff's deputies will now be handing out legible traffic tickets thanks to implementation of a new information system.

Capt. Mike Biaggini said deputies will be able to type in all the citation or traffic accident details and print out a report for the motorist at the scene using a hand-held device.

Officers hope the new IPAC program will eliminate hours of paperwork all the way from the deputy on the street to the supervising officer.

"Arguably, it will cut the time at a traffic stop from about 20 minutes to 10," Biaggini said. "That may not sound like a lot, but when you multiply it by the number of traffic calls each day, it adds up."

He credited deputies Rod Ginocchio, Brian Hubkey and Ron Skibinski with ironing out technological kinks to make the system work.

Biaggini estimated the three deputies put in 500 hours over the past two years.

"I'm not a computer guy," Hubkey said. "But the system was here and it wasn't functioning. We thought if we have a system available, it should work."

He joined a users' group with other agencies including the Nevada Highway Patrol and county sheriff's offices.

"We all had our own issues, and we had some long and tiring sessions," he said.

The hard work paid off.

"In general, people are surprised to see the technology," Hubkey said.

In seconds, the deputy can acquire information about the motorist at the stop by running the driver license through the device.

That step eliminates taking down the information by hand, making four color-coded copies and the chance the ticket is illegible.

Since the information is downloaded into the department's computer system, the supervising office has instantaneous information at his or her fingertips.

"It used to be the sergeant would sit down with a big pile of citations and go through them one by one," Hubkey said. "It would take about a week.

"Where the money-savings comes in is the man-hour issue," Hubkey said.