Everyday, an employee with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office drives from the Los Banos and Delhi substations into Merced to deliver citation paperwork. Soon, they won’t have to.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office is improving and digitizing its citations process.
For years, the agency has contracted with Tyler Technologies for 911 dispatch, patrol, records and corrections.
A swift vote from the Merced County Board of Supervisors last week amended an existing agreement between the technology company and the Sheriff’s Office. The amended contract now includes software for a digital citation system.
The new system will go into effect in around three to four months, following project implementation, training, testing and quality assurance, according to Lt. Delray Shelton.
It’s a one-time purchase of the software, at $35,488, using agency funds from the 2025-26 fiscal year. That amount is part of the total contract MCSO has with the company, which costs $419,972 annually.
How deputies give citations will remain the same. The citations will just be processed quicker.
Officers currently write citations by hand and forward them to the records bureau for review. After the digital transition, once the citation is uploaded, it will show up in a module for review.
“We’re hoping that it’s going to improve efficiency across the board,” said Shelton, who’s been with the department for 20 years.
Department officials have eyed the online citation system for approximately three years, Shelton said, but it became possible now due to available funding and project priority.
Agencies such as Merced Police Department use the technology to publish their aggregated citations data for the public to view. Users can view traffic tickets, car crashes and locations of reported crime on its interface.
Leadership with the Sheriff’s Office is having internal conversations about publishing their own dashboard, Shelton said. Information is still available upon request, even if it is not published online.
“We obviously remain committed to transparency, and with that, any member of the community is able to come to the Sheriff’s Office and or call and or submit a California Public Records Act (request) and acquire any information,” Shelton said.
