FAYETTEVILLE — When a police officer writes a ticket, there are number of forms to fill out. Cumberland County is trying to cut down on all the paperwork by issuing electronic tickets. The most important aspect of the new system is that it should make the entire county a lot safer.

The next time a motorist gets written up, a copy of the ticket will be sent by radio to the court's computer files. The information is sent from a laptop in an officer's patrol car.

Less paperwork for officers will mean more time patrolling the streets.

"We don't have any paperwork to distribute to the office or to the clerk's office or the magistrate's office at all," says Trooper Keyla Bell of theN.C. Highway Patrol.

Court clerks no longer have to process tickets. That means they will not have to go through a dozen time-consuming steps.

"These clerks that are doing data entry will now be freed up to do what they really need to be doing. That is to be in court helping the judges and helping the district attorneys and others with maintaining the records and having the records available for court," says Judge Tom Ross.

If you get a ticket, e-ticketing will actually help you take care of it immediately.

"You don't have to wait until we get it to the office and somebody carries the citation to the magistrate's office. You can go directly to the courthouse and pay it off."

The system cost $500,000. The money came from the Governor's Highway Safety Program.