“Our officers do a tremendous job each day keeping Islanders safe and we are pleased to partner with the Charlottetown Police,” said the minister. “Ensuring they have immediate access to up-to-date driver and vehicle information will make it easier for them to keep our roads safe.”

The new information data systems allow officers to retrieve driver licence and motor vehicle information in real-time. Previously this information was only available from radioing or calling in a request through dispatch. On an average day, dispatch could receive up to at least 50 requests for driver and vehicle information. The systems are being installed in nine cars.

“The ability to have this information at our officers’ fingertips, in real-time, is a great advantage for us as an organization,” says Chief Paul Smith. “Having this immediate access provides us the opportunity to make inquires and deal with issues directly at roadside in much more efficient and effective manner.”

In the new system, an officer types in any information related to a name, a driver licence number or vehicle, and the system will respond with all the related driver licence and vehicle information. The systems are provided by Charlottetown Police while the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal’s Highway Safety Division has linked them into the Driver and Vehicle database.