Knoxville — Marion County Sheriff's vehicles will have new computers installed next week as a primary step toward a paperless traffic incident reporting system. TraCS will also include a program that will allow personnel to see where law enforcement vehicles are located at a given time.
Deputies will be trained on the TraCS (Traffic and Criminal Software), a statewide law enforcement computer network. Troy Fisher, Chief Deputy of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said two cars already have computers. When the remaining computers are installed, the department will begin to utilize the Mobile Accident Reporting System.
MidAmerican Energy donated 12 computers for this purpose. Fisher said the donation will save the sheriff's office a great deal of money.
The computers will allow sheriff's personnel to wirelessly submit traffic violation and accident datat to the sheriff's office and the state. As the process stands now, deputies hand write tickets and bring them in to other sheriff's department personnel, who enter everything into the computer system. Fisher believes going paperless will ultimately save time.
"It'll be a change at first," Fisher said.
Fisher was asked if the wireless system would be safe and reliable, as Marion County has many rural areas. He said the system has been in existence for over a decade and there have been no incidents, to his knowledge, of any hacking or corruption in the system. Firewalls are in place to protect the sensitive data that will be transmitted.
"It's all protected," Fisher said.
In regard to reception, the system uses Verizon, according to Fisher, and no one has had trouble receiving a wireless signal in Marion County.
The computer installation and training is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 10, and Thursday, Oct. 11.
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
