finger tips.

Now a hand-held computer for issuing tickets will be used by traffic wardens on a trial basis.

And from December 1 the two-pound gadget, known as the AutoCITE, will replace pen and paper.

Acting Police Commissioner Michael Mylod told Magistrates and members of the Bermuda Bar Association who were invited to the Police Training School for a demonstration of the AutoCITE that it was just part of the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) which will eventually link the courts with Police stations, the Transport Control Department, prisons, and the Attorney General's Chambers.

Computers have been placed in the three court rooms at Magistrates' Court since July. And the first phase of the system should be up and running by the end of the year.

The demonstration -- which included a hands-on demonstration of the AutoCITE and a short video tape -- showed how the $3,500 gadget was being used by Police and traffic wardens in the US and explained the technology of the machine.

The video described how Police and traffic wardens can issue tickets electronically without having to write anything.

It also showed how using the machine helped to cut down on paper work as the information on the autoCITE is downloaded directly onto a personal computer.

CJIS project leader Ch. Insp. Roger Kendall later explained how all street names, vehicle makes, models, and colours in Bermuda have been programmed into the AutoCITE and can be brought up just by pressing special function keys.

In order for someone to use the AutoCITE they must have a secret password, Ch.

Insp. Kendall said. Without the password the machine will download itself and will not work.

By using the AutoCITE traffic wardens will be able to give out tickets and at the end of the day take all the information from the day's tickets and download it directly on to a main computer which will then be automatically transferred to Magistrates' Court.

While all the information is downloading the AutoCITE's battery will recharge itself.

Ch. Insp. Kendall said if the gadgets proved successful with traffic wardens, they would be used by the Police in the future.

He described how the machine could also be used to store information of stolen and unlicensed vehicles which will be helpful for routine traffic checks.

The AutoCITE is also capable of storing Transport Control Department details on every driver in Bermuda, Ch. Insp. Kendall said, adding that both the AutoCITE and the tickets were weather proof.