Virginia Department of State Police E-Summons Pilot Project
Activities and Outcomes of System Implementation
A Report to the Department of Planning and Budget, Senate
Finance Committee, and House Appropriations Committee
October 2019
Colonel Gary T. Settle
Superintendent
Table of Contents
Executive Summary .................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................. 2
Background ................................................................................. 2
Software Product Review and Selection Process ........................ 4
Hardware Product Review and Selection Process ...................... 5
I.T. and Communications ............................................................ 7
Court Liaison ............................................................................... 8
Training ....................................................................................... 8
Pilot Program Costs .................................................................... 8
Pilot Program Operation .............................................................. 9
Evaluation ................................................................................. 10
Recommendations .................................................................... 13
Conclusion .............................................................................. 134
Colonel Gary T. Settle
Superintendent
———————
(804) 674-2000
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE
P. O. Box 27472, Richmond, VA 23261-7472
Lt. Colonel Tracy S. Russillo
Deputy Superintendent
October 28, 2019
TO: The Honorable Thomas K. Norment, Jr.
Co-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
The Honorable Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.
Co-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
The Honorable S. Chris Jones
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
Pursuant to Item 419, paragraph M, of the Appropriations Act, I am respectfully
submitting a report on the activities and the outcomes of the system implementation of
the E-Summons Pilot Project developed by the Virginia Department of State Police.
Sincerely,
Superintendent
GTS/MDH/rkcjr
Attachment
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Activities and Outcomes
Virginia State Police E-Summons Project
Executive Summary
The Virginia State Police received $1,941,258 (FY 2019 through FY 2020) for the
development and implementation of a pilot project to evaluate the applicability of an
electronic summons (E-Summons) application in the Northern Virginia region.
In August 2018, the Virginia State Police reviewed and evaluated E-Summons
programs and vendors to determine those most suitable based on Department needs
and project expectations. Eight vendors were initially identified. The two that appeared
to be most suitable were requested to give presentations on their products. Tyler
Technologies clearly stood out as the most prepared and experienced and was selected
for this pilot. Contract negotiations began immediately to meet the project timeline;
however, due to vendor concerns regarding several Virginia Information Technologies
Agency (VITA) requirements and mandates, significant delays were encountered in
finalizing the project contract. VITA worked closely with the state police and cooperated
with Tyler Technologies to address their many questions and concerns regarding
Virginia’s security requirements for a cloud based system.
On June 28, 2019, the final contract was signed and implementation began with the
selection of 100 troopers and supervisors for program testing and product evaluation.
Each of the selected participants was issued updated mobile computer hardware that
would enable them to operate the application software necessary for the pilot project.
Each computer included technology that would allow the trooper to scan the driver’s
license and the vehicle registration to automatically populate the required data fields on
the Virginia Uniform Summons. Additionally, each participant was issued a thermal
printer to produce the required paper copy of the summons for issuance to the violator.
Enhancing operational efficiency and data accuracy through automation were two of the
primary objectives of this pilot project. Data on work activity prior to the pilot project
implementation indicated that the average amount of time a trooper spent for traffic
violations in the region was approximately 26 minutes per summons. By comparison,
the average amount of time troopers spent issuing a traffic summons through the E-
Summons application was 10 minutes per summons. This represents a 62 percent
reduction in time.
This increased efficiency is beneficial to the both the violator and the trooper. Safety is
improved for both parties as their exposure to dangerous traffic on the roadside is
significantly reduced and the automated transfer of data improves accuracy. In addition,
the violator is more quickly able to continue along with their daily activities. The trooper
and the agency benefit from the increase in time available for other law enforcement
calls for service and general patrol duties.
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The state police E-Summons pilot also benefits the Virginia General District Courts in
the pilot region through increased efficiencies as traffic case information is electronically
uploaded to their case management systems. This process eliminates the need to
perform data entry for each summons issued and reduces errors due to illegible
handwriting experienced with paper summonses.
Based on the initial evaluation of the E-Summons Pilot Project, a statewide
implementation of E-Summons for the Virginia State Police would require several new
pieces of equipment to be installed in trooper vehicles. Authorizing the Virginia State
Police to retain funding through the Section 17.1-279.1 of the Code of Virginia would be
sufficient to sustain the operating costs of the program (including software license fees,
program supplies such as thermal printer paper, and both initial and recurring hardware
expenses) and allow for incremental expansion of the E-Summons program statewide
over several years without utilizing General Funds. This legislative change would also
enable the state police to provide essential staffing to manage the administrative needs
of the E-Summons application, including program support requirements.
Introduction
The 2018 Session of the Virginia General Assembly provided the following budget
appropriation (Item 419, paragraph M, of the Appropriations Act) for the exploration of
an E-Summons application by the Virginia State Police as follows:
“M. Included in the amounts provided for this item is $1,678,929 for the first year
and $262,329 the second year from the general fund for the Department to implement
and operate an electronic summons system in Division 7. The Department shall work in
cooperation with the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to
implement the system, and shall provide a report on its activities and the outcomes of
the system implementation to the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, and the
Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by November
1, 2019.”
This report is respectfully submitted to fulfill the legislative mandate above and
document the development and implementation of the Virginia State Police E-Summons
Pilot Project in Northern Virginia.
Background
E-Summons is a mobile technology solution that automates the summons process.
Data pertinent to each summons is entered into a computer at the time of the traffic
stop, either manually or by scanning the violator’s driver’s license and vehicle
registration card. The trooper prints a copy of the typewritten summons for the violator
during the stop, which includes an electronic version of the driver’s signature, and the
electronic data is subsequently uploaded to the Virginia Supreme Court’s database.
From there the data is finally sent to the General District Court with jurisdiction over the
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underlying offense. The E-Summons process is an easier, quicker, and more efficient
way of completing a traffic summons for all involved stakeholders.
The primary purpose of the Virginia State Police (VSP) E-Summons Pilot Project was to
determine the applicability and the potential benefits derived through an automated
summonsing process for the Commonwealth. A secondary purpose was to test the
reliability of transmitting summons data electronically to the General District Courts
through the infrastructure and network of the Virginia Supreme Court.
The Virginia State Police began to plan for developing the E-Summons Pilot Project on
July 1, 2018. A departmental workgroup and oversight committee was created to
manage and facilitate the E-Summons project. This committee included subject matter
experts from multiple sections and divisions with primary responsibilities in the areas of
communications, information technology, purchasing and procurement, emergency
dispatch, vehicle equipment maintenance, and field operations. Each operational facet
of VSP was involved in the project development to ensure that the resources and the
professional expertise essential to a successful pilot were actively engaged.
The pilot program was implemented within the Division VII boundaries, which includes
the jurisdictions of Arlington County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, the City of
Fairfax, and the City of Alexandria. A total of 100 troopers and supervisors assigned
within the identified jurisdictions were selected to participate.
The current process to issue a summons requires a trooper to complete a paper copy of
the Virginia Uniform Summons (VUS), which has more than 50 required data fields
concerning the identity of the driver, their license authority, their residence, a description
of the violation, the court of adjudication, the vehicle involved, the trooper’s identifying
information, and other event descriptors. Based on available data from the participating
jurisdictions, the average amount of time spent by troopers to issue a hand written
summons for a traffic violation was approximately 26 minutes for each offense.
The workgroup and oversight committee identified areas for improvement in the
summons issuing process to measure the impact of this pilot program. These measures
were intended to identify the efficiency and effectiveness of an E-Summons application
and to establish agency goals and objectives for the pilot. The primary evaluation
criteria for the E-Summons applications were:
Efficiency – reduce the average time needed to complete a traffic stop
Searchable – supervision access to traffic enforcement data to research problem
issues and plan data driven enforcement and educational efforts
Ease of Use – must be user friendly
Accuracy – the program should reduce common errors caused by transcription of
data, illegible handwriting, incorrect Code sections, etc.
Perception – enthusiasm and support for the program within the VSP ranks and at
the pilot courts
Availability – the program must work when needed
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Software Product Review and Selection Process
VSP created a product review committee to evaluate selected vendors and their
respective E-Summons products for applicability in meeting the evaluation criteria for
the pilot program. This committee evaluated eight E-Summons vendors and solicited
product review and system demonstrations from two of those, which happened to have
the largest client bases in the Commonwealth. These vendors also had established
working relationships with the courts in the pilot jurisdictions. Because of the impending
project timelines with the E-Summons pilot, these relationships were deemed essential
to ensure the timely streamlining of processes associated with the exchange of
summons information between the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Supreme Court,
and the local General District Courts in the pilot area.
Tyler Technology/Brazos and Aptean APS were invited and both vendors provided
product demonstrations to VSP in July of 2018. Each vendor provided in-depth
descriptions of their E-Summons hardware, software, data transmission, data storage
capabilities, data retrieval processes, and reporting capabilities to department managers
and executive level administrators responsible for the development and implementation
of the pilot project.
The products demonstrated by Tyler Technologies much more closely aligned with the
project evaluation criteria and needs of the VSP than the Aptean APS system did. Tyler
Technologies also had a large footprint in Virginia working with other law enforcement
agencies and a number of Virginia General District Courts including Fairfax, Clarke, and
Dinwiddie Counties to name a few. In addition, other law enforcement departments
nationwide use the Tyler Technologies E-Summons application.
Specifically, the VSP product review committee found that the Tyler Technologies E-
Summons solution provided the following benefits that were paramount to the desired
E-Summons solution of the VSP and were not necessarily available through the other
reviewed software applications:
Retained the last court information entered by the officer (reducing the need to
duplicate efforts)
Allowed the issuance of three summonses without having to reenter data
Eliminated redundant data entry into court and public safety records systems
Required minimal IT support from the state police
Application was shown to have a history of exceptionally low down time
Provided full access to summons data and had statistical and managerial reports
already built into the system
Auto-filled suspect information from driver’s license and vehicle registration and
interfaces with the court case management systems in the pilot jurisdictions
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The Tyler Technologies software was particularly user friendly and more intuitive to
use
Provided the ability for the trooper to make notes, embed photographs, and even
store short videos in the software
For these reasons, VSP chose Tyler Technologies as the vendor for the E-Summons
pilot in Northern Virginia. Contract discussions, identification of system requirements,
and program development began in August of 2018. However, the final approved
contact was not signed until June 28, 2019.
The delays that prolonged the execution of the contract were primarily administrative
concerns identified by Tyler Technologies regarding data security requirements and
security reporting mandates from VITA. These issues included Enterprise Cloud
Oversight (ECOS) mandates and VITA section 28.1.1 Security Standard 525 for
procurement of third party cloud services. Each contract area required extensive follow-
up with all parties and legal advisors to reach a final resolution.
In addition, all aspects of the pilot project contract procurement processes and
purchasing procedures were reviewed by the Department of Purchases and Supply
(within the Department of General Services), and underwent a timely review by the
Office of the Virginia Attorney General to ensure compliance with all laws and
regulations of the Commonwealth. All involved entities in the pilot project (both internal
and external) were made aware of the project’s legislative mandated reporting
requirements in an effort to facilitate prompt review and avoid undue delay.
Hardware Product Review and Selection Process
The Virginia Supreme Court requires a signature on each summons. To accomplish this
requirement, the state police selected the Panasonic CF33 Toughbook for use as a
mobile computer terminal (MCT). The Panasonic Toughbook has a solid history of
excellent performance and reliability in harsh conditions. The current standard issue
MCT is the Panasonic CF31, which costs $5,420 each. The CF33 used in the E-
Summons Pilot Project provided necessary features not offered by the CF31. For
instance, the CF33 has a removable monitor that functions as a stand-alone touch
screen tablet. This capability allows the violator to electronically sign the summons
using the tablet’s touchscreen. The CF33 also has the ability to scan codes on the
driver’s license and vehicle registration cards to populate the appropriate fields in the
electronic summons. The CF 33 is more expensive at $7,442 per device, but the CF31
could not perform these required functions. In addition, the CF33 makes other daily
functions of a trooper more efficient, such as report writing and crash investigation.
The E-Summons computer hardware required the procurement of additional equipment
essential to the pilot project’s success, particularly for the motorcycle units in the pilot.
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Each participant was provided a Panasonic N1 handheld smart computing device. This
device can perform many of the same functions the CF33 can, like scanning the
operator’s license and vehicle registration, completing the E-Summons document,
capturing the violator’s electronic signature, taking photographs if needed, and even
making an audio recording. The five motorcycle units in the pilot had to have this device
because the CF33 will not fit in the saddlebags. Instead, the motorcycle units were
issued a Panasonic Toughbook CF20, which does fit in the saddlebags, but does not
have a touchscreen or scanner. For this pilot, it was determined all participants should
be issued an N1 for two reasons. First and foremost, the N1 provided redundancy in the
event the CF33 failed. Secondly, the agency wanted to see which device the troopers
preferred for safety and efficiency reasons. The N1 costs $1,490 per device.
Additionally, a thermal printer was necessary to produce the hardcopy summons for the
violator at an added expense of approximately $70 per user.
The following chart identifies the original (“baseline”) time table established for the E-
Summons project from solution procurement to the development of the mandatory
report. Additionally, the chart provides the “current” or actual milestones that were
accomplished in the development and implementation of the pilot project. The delay of
the contract execution by Tyler Technologies was the greatest inhibitor to the timely
deployment of the E-Summons application in the pilot region.
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(SOW = Statement of Work, GA = General Assembly)
I.T. and Communications
The Information and Communication Technologies Division (ICTD) of the state police
dedicated personnel to the E-Summons Pilot Project from the inception of the initiative.
IT specialists were responsible for the replacement and upgrades of all vehicle mobile
computer terminals (MCTs), software installations, and integration testing to ensure the
E-Summons software would not disrupt existing applications and would perform as
required in an active working environment on all VSP networks.
All E-Summons equipment installations and upgrades were conducted from September
9 through October 11, 2019. The installations were performed by an independent
contractor for all 100 participants. Contractors were necessary as current VSP
resources were not able to stop their primary duties of equipping and maintaining
vehicles for twenty-two different agencies throughout the state to complete the
necessary equipment upgrades and installations for the E-Summons Pilot Program
participants; however, IT specialists were on-site. Following each installation of E-
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Summons equipment, the ICTD specialists performed quality control tests to ensure the
new equipment in no way interfered with essential communications equipment.
Court Liaison
Before the pilot was launched, each impacted jurisdiction’s Clerk of the Court was
contacted and actively participated with the Department and the Virginia Supreme Court
in pre-implementation conference calls to review the processes, discuss procedures,
and resolve any concerns that existed surrounding the program. Every effort was made
to ensure the quality of the data submitted to the courts would not be compromised and
that the state police would assist with checks and balances to ensure all data migrated
to the proper court.
Training
A “train the trainer” concept was utilized and the selected trainers were provided eight
hours of classroom training and eight hours of field training regarding E-Summons
hardware and software as well as the process required for the electronic submission of
summons data to the Virginia Supreme Court. These individuals then provided E-
Summons training to the remaining participants within their respective duty
assignments. Training was conducted from September 23 through October 18, 2019.
As product training was conducted for the participants, ICTD specialists attended and
participated in all train the trainer sessions as subject matter experts and tested
computer applications to ensure compatibility and system functionality. Their
participation was vital to the pilot project in addressing and resolving operational
concerns and software compatibility issues presented during the program’s immediate
implementation. Their role will also expand to maintain the E-Summons equipment
throughout the life of the pilot and the duration of any E-Summons application within the
Virginia State Police.
Pilot Program Costs
The following financial sheet provides an itemized budget with expenditures for the E-
Summons Pilot Project. Due to the contractual negotiations delaying implementation,
total expenditures have not been completely identified. Some payments are pending in
both the hardware and software categories until all work is satisfactorily accomplished
and an invoice and receiving report are completed. An analysis of outstanding costs
indicates that all funds allocated for the pilot project are projected to be completely
exhausted to cover the associated expenses of equipment, personnel, software,
administrative fees, and licensing costs.
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There were also considerable costs and in-kind contributions absorbed by VSP during
the development of this project. The actual costs incurred by VSP and expenses related
to employee support are also identified in the chart. Specifically, all costs associated
with the necessary training for the 100 project participants were absorbed by the VSP.
These expenses involved four days of “train the trainer” in the hardware, software, and
system functionality and also include the time each VSP trainer spent instructing other
program participants to ensure they were proficient in the application and all operations.
Total training costs were approximately $135,163.00.
Additional costs were incurred by the VSP Information Technologies and
Communication Division personnel who were responsible for all technical configurations
within the vehicles and with the computer hardware and other equipment. This phase of
implementation required the setup, configuration, and the registration of all computer
equipment and associated thermal printers with the program vendor. The personnel
costs for the hours involved in this phase of the pilot program were approximately
$67,000.
Pilot Program Operation
The E-Summons Pilot Project was officially launched on September 23, 2019, with the
first session of a train-the-trainer classroom instruction. Day one of the training
addressed the technical operation of the equipment and the functionality of the E-
Summons software. The second day of the training was actual field application and the
issuance of electronic summonses for uploading and transmission to the Virginia
Supreme Court and to the specific court for adjudication.
With the implementation of the E-Summons application there was immediate positive
feedback from the participating troopers. Following the first day of actual enforcement
and electronic production of the Virginia Traffic Summons one of the participants stated,
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“This is a game changer!” The level of efficiency gained through the application was
immediately recognized for improving personal safety for all involved by reducing the
time required to issue a summons. For troopers, the simple ability to know whether a
person had been previously given a summons or a warning by another trooper was one
of the most commented on features of the E-Summons program.
Following the first week of implementation with the first of the selected troopers
operating the E-Summons program, approximately 500 traffic summons were uploaded
to the Virginia Supreme Court for processing by the General District Courts. A review to
determine the number and degree of errors revealed the error rate was less than one
tenth of one percent. The errors committed (the wrong court was inadvertently selected)
were easily corrected by the courts once the record was in their case management
system. The Virginia Supreme Court was also contacted following the first data upload
to determine if any of the participating courts experienced problems or concerns
regarding any aspect of the project. No issues were raised by any jurisdiction.
Evaluation
The E-Summons Pilot Project was met with a high level of enthusiasm and support by
the troopers and supervisors that participated. The activity reports generated through
the E-Summons program’s software benefited troopers, supervisors, managers, and
administrators. With this program, troopers are able to quickly search all of the
summonses they issue, including their individual notes regarding the stop, in a digital
environment. Previously, they had to conduct hand searches of their own paper copies
to do so. Preliminary findings from software testing indicate supervisors are able to
review trooper work activities and monitor enforcement with respect to the strategic
allocation of resources to address highway safety needs with increased manpower
efficiency. It should be noted that actual summons data was limited due to the short
duration of the first operational phase of the pilot.
The E-Summons pilot helped the state police identify and resolve numerous program
issues. The extended contract discussions about ECOS and security requirements with
both Tyler Technologies and VITA were the most challenging, as demonstrated by the
rapid implementation of the project once the contract was finally approved. The
contracted project manager was essential to moving the pilot forward during contract
negotiations and orchestrated the quick rollout from contract signing to actual
operations. The brief period of time the E-Summons program has been fully operational
has limited the ability of the state police to fully evaluate the program. However, the
initial findings are promising even though they include some additional agency costs
and obligations.
The pilot project identified the need for additional administrative support in order to
properly manage the program and constantly maintain an accurate list of registered
users and those with supervisory responsibilities (who would have access to a wider
range of data) with the corporate partner. Each pilot participant was required to be
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registered with Tyler Technologies to enable the proper transmission of data to the
courts and to maintain accountability for each summons issued. For security reasons,
all E-Summons equipment must be registered in the Tyler Technologies’ servers to
enable the capturing, printing, and the transmission of data to Virginia Supreme Court.
As the E-Summons application is a dynamic system that maintains accountability of
each user, it requires continuous oversight for system changes in support of both the
users and the involved courts. Current VSP resources are heavily burdened by the
additional administrative tasks required to ensure the program meets the needs of the
courts and VSP personnel. Additional technical support personnel are essential to
maintaining the E-Summons program beyond the initial period of the pilot program and
any future expansion of the program.
The cost to produce the violator and court copies of the summons for an E-Summons is
a slight increase from the pre-printed form currently used throughout the ranks of the
VSP. The Virginia Supreme Court requires that the paper used to print the hard copy of
the E-Summons have a twenty year shelf life for record keeping. The E-Summons
project uses a special thermal paper to meet this requirement. A single roll of paper
enables a trooper to generate approximately 40 summonses. Each roll costs six dollars.
This equates to fifteen cents per summons. The comparative cost to issue a summons
using the current paper version with handwritten information is nine cents per summons.
Considering the pilot division issued over 82,700 summonses during FY18, the total
increase in paper cost would be approximately $5,000/yr.
The cost to retrofit and fully equip a state police patrol vehicle with the equipment and
computer hardware/software needed to operate the E-Summons Pilot Project was
$12,617. This figure includes the Panasonic CF33 MCT, a docking station, the
Panasonic N1 handheld device, a thermal printer, and the expenses incurred for the
removal of old equipment and the installation of the new equipment. There are
additional costs for the E-Summons application software and essential printer supplies
(thermal paper and ink). It is important to note that this cost included the removal of
existing equipment. Should the E-Summons platform be expanded, the necessary
equipment would be directly installed into new vehicles, thus eliminating the cost of retro
fitting. The Department will have a more accurate total cost of the E-Summons program
at the conclusion of the two year pilot.
Enhancing operational efficiency and data accuracy through automation were two of the
primary objectives of the E-Summons pilot. The electronic summons has already proven
to be extremely efficient and all but eliminates handwritten VUS forms. Troopers are
able to electronically scan the driver’s license and vehicle registration, which
immediately populates most data fields on the summons. Other fields, such as the
court, are selected from a drop down menu. Once selected, the data field will auto
populate and, in most cases, will retain the last selection made. Some fields may
require manual entry, but those are minimal as long as the driver has a valid license and
registration card in their possession. In addition, the trooper only has to change the
violation to issue a second or third summons to the same individual at the same time.
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However, all information does have to be re-entered if more than three summonses are
issued during one stop.
Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) data on work activity prior to the pilot project indicated
the average amount of time a trooper spent per summons for traffic violations in the
region was approximately 26 minutes. By comparison, CAD data indicated the average
amount of time troopers spent per traffic summons when using the E-Summons
application was 10 minutes. This represents a 61 percent reduction very early into the
actual implementation. This process may become even more efficient as familiarity with
the program increases.
To put the improvement in efficiency in context, based on the preliminary data the
reduction in time to issue a traffic summons using the E-Summons program would free
over 22,000 additional work hours per year in the pilot division (82,700 summonses
times 16 minutes saved each, divided by 60). That is the equivalent of adding more than
eleven troopers to the division. The troopers and the agency benefit from the increase in
time available for other law enforcement calls for service and general patrol duties.
The increased efficiency has safety benefits for both the violator and the trooper. Their
exposure to dangerous traffic on the roadside is significantly reduced. In addition, the
violator is also more quickly able to continue along with their daily activities.
The state police E-Summons pilot benefits the Virginia General District Courts in the
pilot region as traffic case information is electronically uploaded to their case
management systems. This process eliminates the need to perform data entry for every
summons issued and accelerates the exchange of information for creating court
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Average Time to Issue a Summons in
Minutes
Paper Summons
eSummons
13
dockets. Populating the court’s case management systems with violator data that has
been digitally scanned at the time of contact reduces errors in personally identifying
information collected by the courts, which come from transcription or interpretation of
handwriting errors. That data is subsequently conveyed to other record keeping
agencies in Virginia, such as the Division of Motor Vehicles to maintain individual driving
records.
A significant benefit of E-Summons is that a typewritten summons eliminates all legibility
issues concerning the location, date, and the time their case is scheduled to be heard. It
also clearly identifies the name and the badge/code number of the arresting officer and
the contact information for the appropriate court and the automated transfer of data
improves accuracy.
Although still early in the implementation phase, the E-Summons Pilot Program
evaluation has clearly identified the application has a highly favorable impact on the
operational efficiency of the state police and the involved courts. Considering the
efficiency of this application, the cost differences for the summonses, upgraded
equipment costs, and increased administrative hours required to actively maintain the
user list are offset by the substantial gain in available work hours for troopers and the
safety benefits to all parties involved when a summons is issued.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the pilot project thus far, it appears that a statewide E-
Summons platform would greatly benefit the state police, the courts, and the public. On
average, Virginia State Police troopers issue nearly half a million summonses each
year. Based on the reduction of the average time to issue a summons demonstrated in
this pilot, if E-Summons was fully implemented, the work hours saved by this application
would be the equivalent of adding sixty-six (66) troopers to patrol duties. Expanding the
E-Summons program within the state police would also greatly improve the operational
efficiency of the agency by allowing for the strategic deployment of resources based on
the comprehensive data reporting and analysis capabilities achieved through the E-
Summons application. Data driven enforcement will ensure the Department’s finite
resources are used most effectively to further the promotion of highway safety.
Additionally, the efficiencies gained in the system would enhance safety through
minimized contact time with violators and reduced exposure to traffic.
As previously stated, the courts benefit greatly from an E-Summons program as the
amount of data entry and processing associated with half a million paper summonses is
reduced dramatically. A statewide E-Summons program that accomplishes the
outcomes realized through this pilot project would provide Virginia taxpayers with an
efficient system that maximizes the resources of the Virginia State Police and enhances
the recordkeeping requirements of our courts.
For the state police to implement an E-Summons program statewide, additional funds
would be required. Section 17.1-279.1 (Additional assessment for electronic summons
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system) of the Code of Virginia allows any county, city, or town to assess an additional
sum not in excess of $5 as part of the costs in each criminal or traffic case to support
law enforcement costs for an electronic summons system. Specifically, the additional
fee is to be used solely to fund software, hardware, and associated equipment costs for
the implementation and maintenance costs of the summons program. At this time, the
state police is not authorized to collect or utilize any funds pursuant to this code section.
If the Virginia State Police was authorized to utilize the same funding source
approved for every other county, city, and town in the Commonwealth, the
Department would be able to incrementally expand the E-Summons Pilot Program
across the state without having to request additional funding from the General
Assembly.
Conclusion
This E-Summons pilot is a two year project, and this report is representative of the
program’s first year. The state police is grateful for the opportunity provided by the
General Assembly to conduct this E-Summons pilot. While the Department recognizes
there are limitations of the evaluation due to the brief operational period of the E-
Summons pilot, the initial findings documented in this report are extremely promising
and encouraging to the agency.
There have been many changes in the past two decades which have increased
demands on the time a trooper has to invest in daily work activities. For instance, the
time it takes to arrest and process a drunk driver has more than doubled in that time
period due to administrative changes and additional duties. Registering sex offenders,
additional reporting responsibilities for traffic crashes and criminal reports, and the rapid
rise in identity theft are examples. While these matters are important, they take troopers
away from their primary responsibly of patrolling and making safe the Commonwealth’s
roadways. The E-Summons program has the potential to reverse this trend by making
the summons process much more efficient. The public and the courts also benefit from
the efficiency improvement. To this agency, the E-Summons pilot is already a
resounding success. Nonetheless, the program evaluation will continue throughout the
second year of the project. Your continued support of the state police E-Summons
program is respectfully requested.