Re: Database construction...

In article <ba43b87e.0306082127.33b6c579_at_posting.google.com>, Andy wrote:
> Hello all and thanks in advance for your help...
>
> My name is Andy Shank and I am a State Trooper in Indiana. I used to
> be in IT consulting in New York City so I have pretty well-rounded
> computer skills in addition to knowing how to arrest people :) Here
> is/are my issue(s)...
>
> Even today in 2003 all cops (at least in Indiana) are still
> handwriting out each and every ticket and warning we hand out. The
> more time I spend sitting behind someone writing them tickets, the
> more time available to get creamed by a semi or shot by the person
> getting the tickets. Most state troopers here have laptops in our
> cars and the numbers are growing of us who have printers.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with constructing a program that would
> allow us to type in the violator's personal information, vehicle
> information, violation information, etc. etc. and print it out that
> way? If we could get a system like this going, I think it could cut
> the average traffic stop's time in half. Being able to transfer the
> basic identifying information from one ticket to the next (instead of
> having to rewrite it all) would save enormous amounts of time. Here
> are the basic requirements I have in my mind of this fledgling system:
>
> 1) Must be able to compile all information from the tickets in a tidy
> format to be submitted to prosecutors office and police department.
>
> 2) Must be able to individually number each ticket so each ticket
> written statewide can be tracked. As daunting as this first seemed,
> if each officer's identification number could be a component of the
> number to ensure no repetition. i.e. if my ID number were 9876 the
> first ticket I write on the system could be 00001-9876, the second
> 00002-9876, etc.
>
> 3) And of course, must be able to be printed out into some sort of
> template form at the scene so it looks like a ticket/warning.
>
> I apologize for the length of this, it's the first chance I've had to
> really flesh it out. If anyone could point me in the write direction
> as far as applications to use or otherwise, I would greatly appreciate
> it.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Andy

I think this would be an easy program to write. For the language I choose java for the range of hardware it the same program would run across. Instead of printing the data in on a printed form, I would print the form as I'm printing the ticket; no alignment problems this way and it doesn't take but a few moments longer. Having the officer's badge number as an intermediate ticket number, then assigning a real number once the ticket is transmitted to the central courts would be better. The intermediate number can be used as a secondary index for the ticket. This doesn't really need a database. It is just a flat-file that gets uploaded into a larger system. Do your existing laptops have a radio link? With a wireless link the laptop can transmit the file of tickets anytime the car is parked at a station or sub-station that is equipped with a wireless access point.

Mike Received on Mon Jun 09 2003 - 14:05:30 CEST