White Paper Interoperability Between Police & Parking Agencies White Paper 2013 gtechna
Executive Summary Redistribution of capital expenses to purchase technologies that generate revenue and cut costs within weeks of operation is an alternative that makes sense for smaller agencies that may be looking to upgrade technologies with as little investment as possible. Sharing some of the financial burden across multiple agencies has become an option some are now considering by purchasing a solution that serves both parking and traffic enforcement operations. Parking enforcement agencies also leverage the efficiencies inherent in license plate recognition to enforce timed and permitted zones as well as pay by plate and by phone pay stations. Sharing software costs can generate substantial savings in initial and overhead expenses. Some partnerships take advantage of revenue sharing models for state based stolen vehicle recovery programs designed in collaboration with insurance companies to offer a percentage on every vehicle recovered; the potential not only for savings in resources but additional revenue for both police and parking enforcement agencies warrants further exploration as local government is being forced to seek out creative conduits to continually perform well and meet mandates. Fortunately, technology and the firms that dedicate research and development to innovative solutions are there to ensure the continued success of government bodies that are called upon to rise above fluctuations in the economy to help continually improve city infrastructures and public services. gtechna - Interoperability Between Police & Parking Agencies- White Paper 3
sent in stealth mode to the police agency minimizing the involvement of the PEO allowing her to continue her beat without being involved in any way with a vehicle of interest. This information is then sent to police who can enforce properly and efficiently. The manifold benefits to police agencies speak for themselves but additionally, there is one reason why it is great for city parking as well. Take the following case for example: A car was just stolen, and the victim of the theft asks the police if they have any leads, to which the police reply, no. A month later the owner of that stolen vehicle receives a late notice for a parking ticket. The disgruntled citizen whose vehicle was stolen decides to phone city hall to complain because the police cannot locate the owner s vehicle, but the city seems to have no problem locating the vehicle to issue a citation. The preceding scenario clearly reflects poorly on the city s ability to maintain efficient, functional public services. So, not only does collaboration help to improve public safety for citizens and Parking Enforcement Officers, but in general government looks like it is well organized and effective. Now, imagine the opposite scenario where stealth alerts are enabled and a stolen vehicle alert is dispatched to police who promptly recover the stolen vehicle. In this instance everyone wins. Hamilton Police Officer Vehicle Recovery Program Overview gtechna - Interoperability Between Police & Parking Agencies- White Paper In participating regions, insurance regulatory bodies have teamed up to offer stolen vehicle subsidies which are made available to police agencies. gtechna and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) partnered to deploy a pilot project with the Hamilton Police Service and the City s Municipal Law Enforcement department to install and operate a License Plate Recognition (LPR) system mounted on the City s parking/bylaw/code enforcement vehicle for the dual purpose of detecting wanted/stolen vehicles while also performing parking rights validation. In this partnership, the parking department can use the same license plate recognition (LPR) system for enforcing parking rights; while scanning for wanted, stolen and Amber Alert vehicles at the same time. These vehicle recovery programs allow police agencies to keep a percentage on every stolen vehicle recovered. During a typical 8 hour shift, a police officer can cover a maximum of 40 plates; however, leveraging the speed and precision of LPR cameras to capture up 5000 plates per shift dramatically boosts the ability of police agencies to tag vehicles of interest. LPR generates fast results which are then immediately monetized through the stolen vehicle recovery program. Police agencies like Hamilton benefit from savings in operational costs as well as additional revenue generation within only a few months of use. Interoperability - Additional Benefits There are additional benefits to leveraging LPR since parking vehicles do not enforce the same roads as police; collaboration covers more ter- 6
Corporate Profile gtechna develops e-citation software to automate law enforcement & parking activity as well as civil code regulations for police and public works departments in North America. For over 20 years, gtechna has built an impeccable track record with cities such as Pittsburgh, PA, Washington DC., Baltimore, MD and Milledgeville, GA police and parking divisions. gtechna - Interoperability Between Police & Parking Agencies- White Paper 8