Cpl. Richard Hartnett has developed a system in which officers no longer have to write out citations in tiny boxes in undecipherable handwriting.

With Virtual Partner software, officers simply type the information into a ready-made form on their computers, print it out for the violator and then send it back to a police station database.

"It's very innovative and it's on the cutting edge of technology," said Chief Patrick Murphy. "I'm very proud that we're the first department in the state to use this."

Hartnett also has added several other tools to his electronic arsenal. These include a scanner to read drivers' licenses and a larger electronic form that includes the citation, the violator's license, racial data and officer's notes, which he can take to court.

Virtual Partner software is the most important tool Hartnett has brought to Berwyn Heights.

Officers have had laptop computers in their cars since 2001, which allowed them to run a driver's tags and pull up their record.

The Virtual Partner "talks" to the officer, detailing important information about the person pulled over. Officers do not have to take their eyes off the suspect to read their monitors. Florida police departments use the technology.

Hartnett recounted one incident from July where he spotted a car in a 7-Eleven parking lot with expired tags. He ran the tags on his computer, and the Virtual Partner immediately told him that the $45,000 BMW was stolen.

Hartnett arrested the suspect when he came out of the convenient store. The suspect had 100 aliases and was wanted in four states.

The Berwyn Heights police have been using the electronic citation form since July 1, and have written 35 traffic tickets without any problems.

The department has used electronic parking tickets and traffic warnings since February, an easy way to test the technology. Before computerizing the traffic citations, the department needed to secure permission from James Vaughan, the chief judge of District Court of Maryland, because the citations use state issued barcodes.

After a demonstration, Vaughan then had the town police undergo a six-month pilot program.

He said new police programs are usually tested at a countywide level, but since the Berwyn Heights' department with its seven officers is so small, any problems with the technology would be spotted easily.

Vaughan said the ultimate goal is to equip every police car in the state with the technology, and develop it to the point where police, court and Motor Vehicle Administration computers interface. This would allow an officer to print out a ticket, call up the violator's driving record and set a court date, all in one stop.

"Even for the person stopped, this could be beneficial by saving them a few minutes, although it won't be a completely pleasant experience," Vaughan said.

E-mail Lea Greve at lgreve@gazette.net.