BEIJING -- Traffic police in Beijing are using a new device to record illegal parking without having to leave their vehicles.

A wide-angle probe camera is attached to a smartphone on the front windshield inside police cars. The camera scans an illegally-parked car's license plate and the information will be sent to the police database by the smartphone in several seconds.

Thanks to the new system, the police can perform their duties with more efficiency. Previously, the job required two policemen, one to drive and one to take pictures of the illegally parked cars, Beijing Traffic Management Bureau staff Yin Hao said.