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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE: |
15 November 2004 |
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TO: |
Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM: |
Director General, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT: |
IMPLEMENTATION
AND FUNDING OF ELECTRONIC TICKETING APPLICATION |
RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa Police Services Board:
2.
Create a new capital project in the amount of $1.2 million for
electronic ticketing to be funded from the capital projects identified in the
report.
BACKGROUND
As identified in the 2004-2006 Business Plan, one of the strategic goals of the Ottawa Police Service is to address community concerns. A top policing priority identified by Ottawa citizens is traffic and road safety. The Police Service has implemented a number of initiatives to address these concerns. With the support of the Board and Council, the Police Service recently doubled it’s staffing in the Traffic Enforcement Section. As well, the organization has adopted a Traffic Safety Plan, and is partnering with the City in the development of an Integrated Road Safety Plan, which promotes the three “E’s” of traffic safety: 1) education, 2) engineering and 3) enforcement.
The enforcement aspect of these initiatives has had a significant impact on the number of Provincial Offence Notices (PONs) issued by the Police Service this year. PONs are issued for non-criminal charges laid by police, primarily under the Highway Traffic Act, such as speeding, careless driving, not wearing a seat belt. Based on third quarter statistics, PONs issued could total 125,000 by year-end, compared to a level of 87,035 in 2003; a projected increase of roughly 45%.
The current approach to issuing and processing PONS is a paper-intensive, highly manual process with the same data being entered at several different points into different systems. The increased volume of PONs has put pressure on this process and has pushed it to the top of the list of candidates being considered for re-engineering and automation.
In keeping with one of the key goals in the OPS Business Plan, the Service is committed to enhancing the use of technology in the delivery of police services. Leveraging the use of technology is one of the key ways that the Police Service can achieve more efficiency in its operations and contribute to the savings targets that will be part of the budget process each year. It is a key way in which the Service can publicly demonstrate its commitment to becoming more efficient.
At its 14 October 2004 meeting, the OPS Executive endorsed a Business Case to implement electronic ticketing. The report was prepared with IBM’s assistance and vetted by an internal Business Reference Group comprised of senior officers. The Business Case summarized the goals of introducing this new technology at OPS, outlined the limited number of existing solutions in place, reviewed requirements, identified critical success factors, constraints and anticipated benefits, and examined risks and costs associated with a number of implementation options.
The report also set out the OPS vision for electronic ticketing:
· Functionality: At roadside, officer enters drivers licence data by swipe card reader, prints and issues traffic ticket, transmits data wirelessly
· Vehicle Suitability: Deploys to cruisers and/or motorcycles
· Durability: Withstands temperatures, vibration, impact associated with OPS operating environment
· Legality: Satisfies requirements of Provincial Offences Court, Ministry of Attorney General, legislation
· Officer Usability: Meets officer expectations about form, function, and ease of use
· Accessibility: Data entered once and available in a format that can be accessed by all users in the PON process.
Staff are recommending that OPS pursue the “Mixed Implementation Solution” outlined in the Business Case. Under this approach, two separate streams of new technology are introduced to OPS in recognition of the fact that an estimated 20% of all PONs are issued by traffic officers on motorcycle:
· Stream 1: A new Versaterm e-ticketing software application is deployed to an upgraded wireless laptop in 155 patrol vehicles. A swipe card reader and printer are installed in the patrol vehicle.
· Stream 2: A separate e-ticketing software solution is deployed to wireless handheld units – with built-in thermal printers - for 41 traffic officers on motorcycle.
There are a number of challenges associated with the implementation of Stream 1. Versaterm provides OPS with its key mission-critical systems and applications such as: Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), Records Management System (RMS), Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) and Mobile Report Entry (MRE). They are in the final testing stages of an electronic ticket application that will be available to clients in the new year. It is not yet fully operational in any police service. Implementing the electronic ticketing software will require that each of those four key applications be upgraded to a new version of software, when typically two upgrades a year are the norm for OPS. Staff are very skilled at managing software upgrades, but it can mean interruptions of service for internal clients.
As well, the wireless laptops in the patrol vehicles will need to be replaced with a more powerful model in order to run this more complex application. The laptop replacement is an expected event. They are at the end of their useful life. An upgrade was planned within an 18 to 24 month period to comply with changes in the wireless data transmission protocols (the 1x environment) that require different modems and more powerful laptops. The 2005 capital budget includes a provision of $1.7 million for the replacement of the wireless laptops. A procurement exercise will need to be undertaken early in 2005 to secure this key element of the e-ticket solution.
Stream 2 also has implementation challenges. Staff will be developing an RFP to search for a supplier of the wireless handheld application and returning to the Board to seek approval to award the contract early in the new year (Versaterm does not currently supply an e-ticketing application that works on a handheld device – the most logical solution for the traffic officer that works on a motorcycle). There are many suppliers in the U.S. who have some experience in this area, but to date no vendor in Canada has a traffic ticket application for the police handheld market. OPS will be a trailblazer.
There are many specific benefits that are anticipated as a result of implementing the e-ticketing solution.
1. Service to the Public
· More efficient enforcement of traffic and road safety, as requested by the community
· Speedier issuance of a PON, leading to reduced inconvenience to those members of the public awaiting issuance of a PON
· Increased public safety due to less time spent parked at the side of the road
· More accurate and timely intelligence about traffic issues
2. Productivity
· Reduced time spent by clerks on data entry
· Reduced time spent by officers issuing PONs
3. Accuracy
· Reduced error rate at issuance – misspelling, poor handwriting, smudged copies and inconsistencies between violation codes and descriptions
· Reduced error rate during transcription
4. Accountability
· Enhanced audit capability
· Increased quality control
· Increased ability to prosecute
5. Officer Safety and Satisfaction
· Increased officer safety due to less time spent parked on the side of the road and greater ability to keep the driver in the officer’s field of vision
· Ability to pre-fill other OPS reports – traffic, general occurrences, street checks
Appointment
of Project Manager
A project team comprised of sworn and civilian members is being struck to undertake this challenging work. At the peak of the project, twelve people will be working on implementation. Staff Sergeant Rock Lavigne has been assigned to the project to ensure that the operational needs of the organization are met as implementation proceeds. The goal is to have these new e-ticketing solutions rolled out in the 2nd quarter of 2005. Most of the team members will need to be backfilled while they are assigned to the project, with any related staffing costs absorbed by the project budget.
The role of the project manager is to lead the project team and co-ordinate the activities in the two implementation streams. They will report to the Director of Information Technology and work closely with Staff Sergeant Lavigne.
Staff will work with the City’s Supply Branch to develop a competitive selection process for the project manager using the City’s standing offer list. By awarding delegated authority to the Chief for the appointment of the project manger, the commencement of this aspect of the project work will not be constrained by the Board’s meeting schedule.
The public consultation process was not applicable in this case.
The total cost for the e-ticketing project is estimated to be $1.2 million as set out in the table below:
COST COMPONENT |
COST |
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Software and Hardware |
$600,000 |
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Implementation Team |
$400,000 |
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Project Management |
$200,000 |
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TOTAL |
$1,200,000 |
Staff are recommending that a number of completed capital projects be closed out and that the unspent balances be transferred to the capital project for electronic ticketing as set out below. These projects were all funded from pay-as-you-go sources. In this way no new funding is required in order to carry out this work.
Source Approved Remaining This
Project Project
Name Budget
Balance Request
900520 Public Key Infrastructure 2000 $ 537,000 $ 44,079 $ 44,000
901008 IT Upgrade and Expansion 2002 714,000 359,194 359,000
901010 Public Key Infrastructure 2002 233,000 211,351 211,000
902239 IT Upgrade and Expansion 2003 714,000 254,006 254,000
902241 IT Applications Upgrade 2003
186,000 157,536 157,000
902991 IT Applications Upgrade 2004
160,000 39,252 39,000
902992 Telecommunications 2004 205,000 136,550 136,000
Total Funding Required $2,749,000 $1,201,968 $1,200,000
Upon
approval by the Board, the budget amounts identified above will be transferred
to Capital Project # 903138 – “ IT, E-Ticketing Initiative” for project
implementation and the source projects will be closed accordingly.
Implementation of the recommended option for e-ticketing will be a challenging project for OPS. The investment is a timely one in light of the organization’s increased focus on traffic enforcement initiatives. It is key that the Service demonstrates that it can achieve efficiency gains and this application is one way to showcase such an achievement with the public.
Debra Frazer
Director General
I concur
Vince Bevan
Chief of Police
