Council of State Governments Innovations Award July 29, 2011 Leveraging Technology for Efficiency in Government

Statewide Electronic Collision & Ticket Online Records

 Traditional paper-based systems for processing tickets and collision reports are inefficient and costly  Volumes increase over time 1,300,000 + tickets 140,000 collision reports  Redundant & costly data entry throughout the system The Case for Change

10-15% of paper tickets contain significant errors (Pitt. Law, NY Finance Dept.) 11% of statewide paper collision reports are returned to officers for corrections Following court disposition, the average delay for a paper citation to be received & processed by DOL is 13 days Average length of time for a paper collision report to be received and processed by WSDOT is over 90 days Research Showed a Problem with Accuracy and Timeliness BOTTOM LINE: Paper systems are inefficient, inaccurate, and costly

An Example of the Burden: An Example of the Burden: Paper Tickets Officer’s Copy Violator Copy Law Enforcement Agency Copy Local Court Of Jurisdiction Statewide Court Database Licensing Copy Court Copy Disposition

Build Effective Governance The Foundation for Change: A Structure and Process for Success

 Surveyed existing systems and technology to innovate new systems for traffic data  Developed 3 High-level Objectives 1)Provide law enforcement a tool to electronically create tickets & collision reports in-the-field 2)Develop an exchange system to send electronic data to repositories 3)Prepare data repositories to receive and file electronic data Creating the Vision

 Conducted outreach to state and local agencies to understand needs and foster relationships  Created an educational toolkit to articulate the business case for change and a “Concerned Community” Establishing the Coalition

The Community is Key

 Convened stakeholder workshops to consider creative approaches for realizing the community’s vision  Identified a portfolio of innovative strategies for developing or acquiring the needed functionality and tools Developing the Roadmap

Objective 1Objective 2Objective 3 A Roadmap to the Future Courts: Receive & process tickets; send dispositions Licensing: Receive and file collisions & ticket dispositions Law Enforcement: Receive & file SECTOR documents created by officers Transportation: Receive & file collisions State IT Agency: Distribute tickets, collisions, & dispositions SECTOR: Central Server Prosecutors: Create criminal citations & review those referred by officers Officers: Create tickets & collision reports Supervisors: Review/Approve tickets & collisions

 In-field application built to automate ticket & collision report creation  Interview-based application, features include: Auto populates from license and registration bar codes Utilizes pick lists, drop menus, & default entries Automates fine calculations Easy collision scene diagramming Objective 1: SECTOR

 Report reviewer feature allows supervisors to inspect collision reports prior to filing  Automatically generated Driver Information Exchange Form for citizens  Robust back-office database, features include: Sophisticated reporting capabilities Local agency administrative control Additional Features

 Statewide exchange system for disseminating electronic data to appropriate agencies  Washington’s first large-scale Service Oriented Architecture project: SECTOR Exchange automates the routing of tickets and collision reports Objective 2: SECTOR Exchange

The Data Dissemination Problem: Traditional Data Sharing Model  Each connection is managed separately  Changes to a one organization’s system affects everyone connected to that organization

 Organizations develop web service applications to send and receive data  A Central Broker facilitates exchanges based on commonly defined messaging standards SECTOR Exchange: Service Oriented Data Sharing  Secure  Flexible  System Changes are Transparent to Others

 Formalized a leadership structure through a multi-agency cooperative agreement  Two-tiered governance ensures executive support and manager-level commitment Managers meet weekly Executive sponsors meet bi-monthly Building Effective Governance

 Memorandum of Understanding outlines individual agency responsibilities Each data system interfacing with SECTOR is explicitly named System maintenance and support is clearly identified  Collective responsibilities are also addressed The Governance Team developed a shared change management, communication, and implementation plan Managing Roles & Responsibilities

Is SECTOR Effective?  A suite of formal research studies suggests tremendous savings: 1.Law enforcement(≈ 10,000 statewide): 30-35% time savings in creating SECTOR tickets & collisions 15-20% time savings in the time of a traffic stop Data entry personnel save through automatic filing in records systems 2.Court staff (≈ 1,300 statewide): 80% time savings processing traffic infractions 50-90% time savings for criminal citations Ticket errors have also been reduced

Is SECTOR Effective? 3.Dept. of Transportation Coders: 40% time savings in processing SECTOR collision reports Less than 1% of SECTOR reports returned to officers 75% of SECTOR reports are received within 3 days of the collision 4.Dept. of Licensing Driver records are updated more frequently and with more accurate data Financial Responsibility cases generate automatically 5.Other Efficiencies Audits of tickets have been made more efficient

Why is SECTOR Unique?  Provides a solution for two separate systems and related business processes: Tickets: Courts; prosecutors; auditors Collision Reports: State and local transportation agencies  Leverages the state’s first large-scale network exchange system  Utilizes a collaborative training program coordinating law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, licensing, and transportation

Why is SECTOR Unique?  Allows prosecutors to electronically file criminal citations  Establishes a flexible and scalable platform for adding additional processes and systems  Outlines a repeatable process for other large- scale technology projects

Lessons from SECTOR: Translating the Success to Others  SECTOR provides a technical framework for similar process improvement projects Implementation may vary from state-to-state but the general solutions and architecture is proven  SECTOR shows the importance of a representative and empowered governance structure Without a formalized oversight and leadership model, coordinating the various projects among partnering organizations would have been impossible

Governance Lessons from SECTOR: Translating the Success to Others  SECTOR demonstrates the need for large- scale technology projects to: Create & inspire a shared vision Establish a coalition by articulating the business case Develop a clear roadmap for success Build the appropriate governance structure

Lowell Porter, Director (360) Additional Information