The online system allows Oklahoma municipal courts to report traffic convictions to the Department of Public Safety, which must be entered within 10 days of conviction as mandated by federal law beginning in October 2008. Prior to the online Municipal Court Reporting System, municipal courts entered all information through a paper-intensive process, which resulted in high error rates and slow completion. The reporting tool eliminates paper usage, time constraints and decreased the high error rates associated with the paper process from 10-15 percent to 1-4 percent.
"The creation of the Department of Public Safety Web site by OK.gov for the use by all Oklahoma Municipal Court Clerks has been of enormous benefit to our agency," said Kevin Ward, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. "The technology now used to expediently receive accurate driver license convictions and suspensions has dramatically reduced the previous high error rate and allows these convictions to be entered on a driver's record in a timely manner."
The Department of Public Safety estimates an average savings of $12,000 a year in printing, mailing and shipping. In addition, approximately 3,500 citations per month are now processed through the system, which allows for an estimated 60 full-time employee hours saved. This provides about $9,500 in savings each year in employee hours.
The Oklahoma Municipal Court Reporting System is a product of a partnership between the Department of Public Safety and Oklahoma's official Web site, managed by the eGovernment firm NIC Inc.
