TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Some law enforcement agencies in Idaho are making the change to high-tech equipment to issue tickets.

Law enforcement officers in Twin Falls and Twin Falls county in southern Idaho in the next month will start using a new system that will allow them to print citations from patrol cars.

The Idaho State Police plan to have a similar system in place within a year that will use portable printers and scanners.

Officials say the electronic equipment will help reduce ticket-writing problems such as misspellings, numerical errors and poor penmanship. They say it will also reduce the amount of time it takes officers to issue a ticket.

Idaho State Police officials plan to have the system working in Boise and Coeur d'Alene by April and the rest of the statewide fleet within a year.

Idaho State Police Capt. Eric Dayley, who is coordinating the electronic ticket program for state police, said about $900,000 in grant money is paying for the system, but that about $500,000 could still be needed to take it statewide.

"It's fairly spendy to implement," said Dayley. "With holdbacks and cuts, it's difficult."

Twin Falls Police Sgt. Brian Pike said officers at his agency currently write tickets by hand, and clerks later enter the information into databases.

Pike said the new tickets will be printed after an officer scans a driver's license.

He said the time spent on a vehicle stop is about 10 to 15 minutes, but with electronic ticketing it should drop to about 5 minutes.

Dayley said quicker ticketing means police should be able to write more tickets, and drivers won't have to wait as long.

"The best way to change driver behavior is through citations," Dayley said.

Pike said the Twin Falls Police Department plans to put the system in 26 patrol cars.

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Information from: The Times-News