The Ghana Police Service says the planned deployment of its TrafficTech system will reduce direct encounters between officers and motorists during the enforcement of road traffic regulations.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alexander Kwaku Obeng said the technology would enable officers to gather evidence of traffic offences using cameras, smartphones and other digital devices.

“The law requires that, under the regulation I referred to, which has over 49 automated offences, the police are supposed to gather evidence with devices for vehicle owners and drivers to be forthcoming, rather than being stopped and taken to police stations,” he said on JoyFM's Super Morning Show on Wednesday, August 26, while discussing the services of the new technology.

According to ACP Obeng, the initiative represents a significant departure from the existing approach to traffic enforcement, which largely involves officers stopping suspected offenders on the road.

“It is a complete departure from how we are going to deliver our service, such that the police are required to deploy traffic devices that are technological,” he explained.

He said the devices would include independently operated cameras, handheld equipment and systems mounted permanently on poles or placed on tripods.

The police are also developing a mobile application that will enable officers to use personal digital assistants, Android devices and smartphones to record offences committed on the roads.

“We are building our capacity and developing fast a software application that will also allow police to have other PDA or Android devices and smartphones,” ACP Obeng stated.

He said the necessary TrafficTech hardware and software had already been procured and were undergoing testing, while the supporting back-office infrastructure had been established.

The system is expected to capture evidence that could be used to trace offending motorists, issue court notices and pursue prosecution without immediately taking drivers to police stations.