No action on potential La Joya PD shift to digital citations
La Joya City Council took no action Wednesday on subscribing to a service that would transition citations issued by the La Joya Police Department to a new digital platform, a move that may save the city money and allow its officers to issue significantly more citations.
La Joya City Hall. Progress Times Photo.
Council heard a pitch from Trusted Driver, a company that provides entities with an e-citation system, at its meeting last month and appeared favorable to hiring it.
Trusted Driver representative David De Los Santos told council that for just $2,000 a year La Joya could switch to its citation system, which would essentially cut down the amount of physical paperwork involved in issuing a citation to a single QR code.
“So that saves you on your budget — and it’ll save the chief’s budget — quite a bit,” he said.
De Los Santos said officers and motorists both use their phones to interact with the company’s system.
He said Trusted Driver will provide the city with a kiosk for motorists that don’t have access to a cell phone or some other device.
The system, De Los Santos said, will save officers time and make it easier for the department to organize data required for things like grants and reports.
More efficiency will also likely mean more citations for people driving through La Joya — potentially a lot more citations.
“A lot of people have increased ticket writing with our company in different areas of the state here,” De Los Santos said.
According to De Los Santos, Brooks County began using the system and tripled the number of citations issued there.
Council seemed favorably disposed to hiring the company last month despite more citations being potentially unpopular with residents.
“You know I have no concerns or want to make somebody who’s breaking the law life easier or more convenient,” Councilwoman Laura Macias said. “Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I am 100% with our officers. So if it makes their job easier and more efficient, then I’m all for it.”
Council was supposed to discuss Trusted Driver again Wednesday and could have voted to hire the company.
It did neither, taking no action on an agenda item for the system.
Mayor Isidro Casanova didn’t respond to requests for comment on Trusted Driver Thursday morning.
