FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 22, 2001

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division is upgrading its existing ticket tracking system to more adequately reflect all enforcement activity.

Effective January 1, all enforcement troopers began entering comprehensive enforcement activity data into the new computer database within 72 hours of each shift. In addition to citation data, troopers also are entering information about all verbal and written warnings, other types of traffic stops and information on collisions investigated.

"By capturing this information in an electronic database, the Highway Patrol’s ability to measure its effectiveness in carrying out its responsibilities will be greatly enhanced," said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. "We’ll be able to analyze trends in traffic violations and collisions, which will help us more accurately forecast staffing needs."

With the old tracking system, the Highway Patrol had limited ability to generate any sort of statistical reports. Even though trooper paperwork contained extensive enforcement and investigation data, only the most basic of information was entered into the computer database. For example, certain types of violations were grouped together into one violation code. Although a system query might indicate 1,000 citations issued for "vehicle license violation," there was no way to break down this figure to determine how many citations were issued for expired license plates, defaced or altered license plates, or no license plates.

"Our new system will allow us to see exactly where and when all types of moving violations are occurring as well as who the violators are," said Highway Patrol Col. Ralph Mobley. "We will have demographic information such as sex, age and race for drivers at all traffic stops, whether they involve issuing a citation or a verbal or written warning."

In addition to making more information available, the new tracking system will allow for more instant access to the data. Troopers are now entering their own enforcement data within 72 hours instead of forwarding the information to Columbia for processing. Because of the tremendous volume of reports coming in from the field, data entry personnel sometimes experienced as much as a six-week backlog. With the new system, citation information will be available within several days of the ticket being written.

The new system is currently undergoing a stringent three-month test phase to ensure reliability and accessibility of data input and output.

Editor’s note: The DPS web site address has changed to www.scdps.org. Please bookmark this address and visit the web site often. You will find the latest DPS news there as well as information about the various DPS divisions and their diverse responsibilities.

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