Citizens to see changes in tickets from law enforcement

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WORTHINGTON — No one wants to get a ticket, whether it be for parking or speeding or any other traffic violation.

But whoever does get cited after today may notice a difference in the paperwork they receive.

As of today, the Worthington Police Department and Nobles County Sheriff’s Office citations will have a new look.

Instead of the handwritten tickets received by citizens in the past, each citation will be printed on a thermal fax-type paper that comes from a printer inside the squad car.

“A deputy and an officer have been using them in their cars as a test run,” said Worthington Public Safety Director Mike Cumiskey. “All the officers have had training, and we’ve been working with the vendor for almost a year now, getting all the ordinances, street names and plat maps into the software.”

The statewide standardized traffic citations will replace the local forms, and are less than half the cost to produce.

The old style tickets cost about 15 cents each, while the new tickets will cost 6 cents each.

The handwritten tickets aren’t completely going away — they would be used in the event the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) or printers were down for some reason, or if the violation wasn’t found in the system.

“Improved technology is part of the process,” Cumiskey said. “With the new tickets, officers and deputies will be able to swipe the driver’s license.”

The magnetized strip on the back of Minnesota driver’s licenses carries all the information on the driver, and will be transferred into the system in a matter of moments, which could speed up the process and get both the officer and the driver on their way in less time.

Eventually, all tickets will be sent electronically to the court system.

Tickets can still be paid for locally, but they can also be paid online at https://webpay.courts.state.mn.us/CourtWebPay/default.aspx.

This website offers payment service for payable traffic and petty misdemeanor cases issued in all counties, with the exception of Hennepin and Ramsey.

The ticket-holder will be asked to enter their citation or case number, and the site accepts MasterCard, Visa and debit cards. Minnesota Court Web Payment is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except during scheduled or emergency maintenance.

Tickets may not appear online for five days after the violation, due to processing time.

Tags: news, citations, tickets, change, police, authorities