Editorial: Citing a traffic ticket snafu

Friday, March 17, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.

Las Vegas Justice Court officials say that thousands of traffic tickets issued in unincorporated Clark County are often processed so slowly that the citations do not even exist in court records when motorists try to pay them.

According to a story in the Las Vegas Sun, tickets sometimes aren't entered into the computer system for up to 30 days because there are only two people assigned to the duty. Law enforcement officers issue 18,300 tickets a month, on average, the Sun reports. But in February, 12,000 of the tickets written didn't make it into the system. In December, 15,000 tickets hadn't been entered.

This angers motorists who try to take care of these tickets, Chief Justice of the Peace James Bixler said. "It's bad enough people have to take off work to come down and take care of their tickets and even worse if they arrive to find out their ticket isn't in the system," Bixler told the Sun. "It really couldn't be any worse as per the lack of response we are giving customers."

We would hardly use the word "customers" to describe those who have broken traffic laws that can include speeding in school zones and running stop signs. The best way to avoid the inconvenience of missing work to pay a fine is to obey traffic laws in the first place.

Still, all of us should expect a timely response from government. Metro Police officers enter ticket data on hand-held units, which immediately transmit the information to the courts. But once there, the data still must be entered by hand. And not all officers have these units. Metro officials say they worry about the public's perception that they are simply issuing tickets to generate revenue.

Justice Court officials have hired a private company on a three-month trial basis to clear up the backlog. But that is a short-term solution. It would be more productive if the hand-held units were available to all street officers and if the data went directly into the court's computer system. In an age when the vast majority of business transactions can be performed electronically, it would seem that using technology to keep traffic court records up to date would be a no-brainer.