At the Public Sector Network Government Innovation Showcase in Richmond, focused on Virginia’s digital future: empowering communities, driving innovation, one theme came through clearly in every conversation. The pace of innovation is accelerating. The pace of trust is not. That gap is where state governments now operate.
The event convened state leaders and tech experts to chart the Commonwealth’s transition toward “Government 3.0,” a future of proactive, citizen-centric service. Highlighting over 70 modernization projects, the event provided a roadmap for integrating AI and cloud infrastructure while maintaining the rigorous ethical standards and data governance vital to build public trust.
Across Virginia, leaders are being asked to modernize services, adopt AI and deliver seamless experiences that match what residents expect in their daily lives. Faster, simple and more transparent. As Commonwealth of Virginia, Secretary of Administration Traci DeShazor put it, government is no longer an abstract concept. It is a daily experience, and increasingly a digital one.
The Tension Between Innovation and Regulation
At the same time, leaders are navigating a more complex reality. New AI legislation, ongoing policy debates and heightened public scrutiny are shaping how and when innovation can move forward. Recent developments in Virginia’s General Assembly reflect this tension. Lawmakers are working to define guardrails around AI use while still encouraging innovation. That balance is not easy to strike.
This is not a technology problem; it is a trust problem. And, more specifically, it is a data governance problem.
From Theoretical AI to Real-World Impact
The pressure to move faster is real. In Richmond, there was no shortage of energy around AI. Agencies are already using AI, including Agentic AI, to improve records access, accelerate contract review, improve planning and streamline case management. These are not theoretical use cases but are happening today. Virginia’s leaders understand the potential of AI but also understand the potential risk.
In government, every decision carries weight. Every dataset has implications. Every system must stand up to public scrutiny. Moving fast without control does not just create inefficiency: It erodes trust. One of the most important insights from the Richmond event was this: AI is not introducing new problems; it is exposing existing issues quicker. Most state agencies, not just in Virgina but across the county, are still managing decades of content across shared drives, legacy systems, email and paper. Information is fragmented. Ownership is unclear. Policies are inconsistently applied.
The Rise of Agentic Systems
This challenge becomes even more urgent as we move into the next phase of AI: agentic systems. These are not tools that simply summarize or assist. They take action. They trigger workflows, move information between systems and support decisions in real time. In a contract management scenario, an AI agent could automatically extract terms, route approvals and flag compliance risks across thousands of documents. That level of automation is powerful, but it also raises the stakes. If the underlying data is incomplete or poorly governed, the agent does not just produce a flawed output. It executes flawed actions at scale.
This is why the agencies making real progress are not starting with AI. They are starting with governance.
Virginia’s Path to Responsible AI
What makes Virginia particularly interesting right now is that both sides of this challenge are playing out in real time. On one hand, there is clear momentum. Agencies are modernizing, digitizing services and exploring how AI can improve outcomes. From contract analysis to benefits processing, the focus is on delivering faster, more responsive services to citizens.
On the other hand, there is a growing recognition that governance must keep pace.
The leaders in Richmond were not asking whether to adopt AI. They were asking how to do it responsibly. That is a different question. And it leads to a different strategy. Legislative conversations around AI reflect concerns about transparency, accountability and data protection. These are not barriers to innovation. They are prerequisites for it.
Governance as an Operational Foundation
For years, governance has been treated as a compliance exercise. Something separate from innovation. Something that slows things down. That mindset is changing.
What we are seeing across Virginia and other states is a shift toward governance as an operational foundation. Not policy documents sitting on a shelf, but systems that enforce consistency automatically. When governance is embedded into how information is captured, classified and managed, several things happen.
Data becomes more reliable. Processes become more repeatable. Decisions become more explainable. And AI becomes more trustworthy.
This is what enables practical, defensible use cases. Faster FOIA responses. More consistent contract evaluation. Better visibility into case data. All with auditability built in. AI does not create trust. Governance does. AI simply operates within it.
See how the City of Acworth is using AI to drive efficiency and public service.
Sustainable Innovation for the Future
The path forward is clear, but not easy. State leaders are being asked to move faster while taking on more risk. To innovate while maintaining public trust. To modernize without disrupting essential services.
The agencies making progress are doing three things consistently:
- Getting control of their information environment.
- Standardizing and automating how work gets done.
- Building trust in their data before scaling AI.
- This is not about slowing down innovation but rather making scale sustainable. AI is not the starting point. It is the next step. The conversation around AI will continue to evolve. New capabilities will emerge. Expectations will continue to rise. Legislative pressure will increase. Through all of it, one thing will remain constant. Trust will determine the outcome.
For state government leaders, the priority is not to adopt AI faster but to build a foundation that allows AI to be used responsibly, transparently and at scale.
That foundation is governance.
Now is the time to take a hard look at your information environment. Where is your data fragmented? Where are policies inconsistently applied? Where do processes rely on manual workarounds instead of enforced standards? Start there. Because in government, AI is not just about what is possible. It is about what is defensible. And the agencies that get this right will not just move faster, they will move forward with confidence.
Turning First Contact Into a Turning Point
Across America, many public safety systems have generally operated in a reactive mode, responding to incidents after they occur. In Long Beach, California, city leaders saw an opportunity to take a different, proactive approach.
“We’re focused on intervention and prevention,” said Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert. “If we can get people into services directly from that first contact with law enforcement, it’s more effective for that individual and better for the community as a whole.”
Long Beach police officers were often the first point of contact for persons experiencing homelessness, mental health crises or substance use disorders. In many cases, these interactions required immediate action, especially when someone was ready to accept help. But without real-time access to information about the individual, or what services were available, officers had limited options in the moment. They relied on memory, phone calls or paper-based resources to try to connect individuals with support.
“We would contact someone, offer services and try to connect them to the right resources,” said Officer Alejandro Cazares of the Long Beach Police Department. “But if we didn’t have an outreach worker with us or immediate access to those resources, we’d have to give them a phone number or an address, or try to call around ourselves.”
Service providers faced a similar challenge. Even when help was available, it was difficult to connect with individuals at the point in time when they were ready to accept it.
“One minute they’re in; one minute they’re out,” said Michael Rubio of the Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (LACADA). “If someone is ready right now, we have to meet them right now.”
Building a Connected Public Safety Solution
To bridge these gaps, the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office partnered with Laserfiche to develop GUIDES (Government User Integrated Diversion Enhancement System), a mobile application that connects law enforcement, prosecutors and service providers.
With GUIDES, officers now have immediate access to shelter, mental health and substance use resources directly from their phones. From the field, officers can quickly connect individuals to support through a streamlined process:
- Officers submit a referral in seconds through the GUIDES app while in the field.
- Referrals are routed to the social worker at the City Prosecutor’s Office.
- Individuals are then referred to service providers based on their specific needs.
- Outreach teams from the service providers follow up to connect the individual to their services.
“At its core, GUIDES is a secure data-sharing platform,” said Haubert. “We can now connect people to services as soon as officers encounter them.”
Prior to GUIDES, the Long Beach Police Department was already a long-time user of Laserfiche to improve access to information about court orders. Laserfiche enabled the department to centrally store critical information such as court documents, images and PDFs, apply metadata for organization, and securely retrieve content while meeting regulatory, security and privacy requirements.
“Laserfiche already had a strong presence within the city and the police department,” said Byron Bolton, the city prosecutor’s chief technology officer. “There was a level of trust there, which made it much easier for us to build on that foundation.”
The GUIDES app represents a significant advancement in the city’s approach to public safety. It extends secure information access beyond records management into real-time decision-making in the field. With Laserfiche as the backbone, GUIDES enables officers to access resources, submit referrals and share information across agencies directly from their mobile devices.
Behind the scenes, Laserfiche supports secure data sharing, audit tracking and compliance with criminal justice standards, ensuring that information is accessible, trusted and protected.
“Security is built into every layer of GUIDES,” said Bolton. “The Laserfiche platform allows us to meet CJIS requirements and city cybersecurity standards while still giving officers fast, reliable access to the information they need in the field.”
From Referral to Coordinated Care
Through the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which gives officers an alternative way to connect individuals with services, referrals move quickly from first contact to coordinated care.
“Even if it’s overnight, officers can submit a referral, and we can follow up the next morning and make sure the individual gets connected to the service they need,” said Gigi Zanganeh, LEAD program coordinator for the city prosecutor’s office.
For service providers like L.A. CADA, that speed and visibility enable them to respond quickly. In many cases, outreach teams connect with individuals the same day or by the next day, a significant improvement over previous manual processes.
This approach also expands the city’s capacity to serve more individuals by streamlining the process for officers, social workers and service providers to work together.
“Laserfiche allows us to capture referrals, share them across agencies and act on them without delay,” said Bolton. “That level of coordination is what makes this work.”
Real Stories, Real Impact
The impact of GUIDES is best understood through the people it helps:
- After years of repeated interactions, one individual who previously declined assistance was finally connected to substance abuse services through GUIDES. Today, they are substance-free and housed.
- In another case, an individual experiencing homelessness was referred by an officer and connected to services within a day. They were placed into a residential program and they continue to make progress months later.
- For individuals facing complex barriers, coordinated support makes the difference. In one instance, someone was ready to enter treatment but could not leave their pet behind. Through collaboration between city staff, service providers and community partners, a foster solution was arranged, allowing them to begin recovery.
Strengthening Trust and Public Safety
As outcomes improve, so does trust.
“The app definitely helped us build trust with the community because they see the results,” said Cazares.
It’s also changing how residents view law enforcement. “People understand that officers aren’t just there for enforcement,” said Haubert. “They’re there to help people and connect them to the services they need.”
For community partners, the impact is just as meaningful. “When you get everyone at the table — police, prosecutors and providers — all working toward the same goal, it changes everything,” said Rubio.
Together, this alignment is redefining public safety in Long Beach. Officers can act in the moment, service providers can respond quickly, and individuals are connected to support when it matters most.
As the City Prosecutor’s Office continues to expand GUIDES and explore new capabilities, Laserfiche provides the foundation to scale these efforts while maintaining security, visibility and control over information. “Technology like the GUIDES app powered by Laserfiche can save time and money,” said Haubert. “But in Long Beach, we’re using it to save lives.”
Criminal justice agencies are facing increasing pressure: They must manage information securely while also working quickly and remaining transparent. The volume and complexity of data continues to expand, including everything from body-worn camera footage to case files and public records requests. Agencies must meet strict requirements regarding how they protect and access that information and how they share it.
That’s where Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) comes in.
The FBI established CJIS as a set of policies and standards that govern data security and privacy while enabling timely, secure access to criminal justice information. These policies ensure that agencies protect sensitive data from unauthorized access while keeping it available to the right users. The standards also address areas such as user authentication, encryption, audit logging and physical security, all designed to protect criminal justice data at every point in its lifecycle.
Who Needs to be CJIS-ready?
CJIS requirements affect more than just law enforcement agencies. They also apply to courts, prosecutors, corrections and any vendor that accesses or stores criminal justice data.
Yet, across these departments, the focus on immediate tasks can make compliance feel like a secondary priority.
“They’re just worried about boots on the ground and managing the day-to-day challenges,” says Scott Wilcox, senior fellow for the Center for Digital Government.
This lack of alignment between policy and implementation means that while agencies are expected to meet strict security requirements, many are managing fragmented systems, manual processes and growing volumes of data. Some don’t realize they are falling short of CJIS requirements.
CJIS-ready agencies manage information consistently and securely across the entire lifecycle. They can respond quickly to audits and public records requests, and their risk of unintended disclosure is lower.
However, many agencies are not CJIS-ready. They still operate in fragmented situations where criminal records are stored in paper files and on shared drives. Disconnected systems make it hard to sustain consistent controls and visibility, which also increases risk.
Operational Efficiency as the Foundation for Compliance
The right tools can reduce operational friction by bringing structure and consistency to how agencies manage information, making it easier to support compliance as part of everyday work — not a separate burden.
“When you have the right content management systems, they improve operational workflow and efficiencies throughout the criminal justice life cycle, and that makes your life easier. People get things done in a more efficient and more accurate way,” says Curt Wood, senior fellow for the Center for Digital Government.
An enterprise content management system can support CJIS requirements while also improving day-to-day operations. For example, it can provide:
- Centralized document and records management
- Role-specific access controls
- Automated workflows that reduce manual effort
- Audit and reporting tools that support accountability
- Secure integration across systems
Learn how Idaho Department of Corrections streamlined manual processes and secured their data.
These capabilities help address the challenges agencies face every day, from processing evidence to fulfilling public records requests.
While CJIS is an essential requirement for criminal justice organizations, readiness isn’t just about passing audits. It’s about reducing friction, improving accountability and creating a more efficient, resilient approach to managing criminal justice information.
When agencies take this approach, they reduce operational strain, enhance data quality and increase transparency. They can respond more quickly to public demands while better defending sensitive information.
Advancing Public Trust and Innovation with CJIS Readiness
Criminal justice agencies are entrusted with some of the most sensitive data there is, and the stakes for protecting it continue to rise. CJIS provides the framework, but agencies still need the right technology and partners to put those standards into practice in a way that doesn’t add operational strain.
That’s why it’s critical to work with solutions designed with CJIS requirements in mind from the start. Systems that align with FBI standards help ensure that security, access control and auditability are built in, not bolted on. This gives IT leaders confidence that they can support compliance while also enabling their agencies to operate more efficiently.
For chiefs of police and other agency leaders, the goal isn’t to manage technology. It’s to ensure their teams can do their jobs effectively, securely and without unnecessary friction. By partnering with CJIS-aligned providers, agencies can reduce risk, simplify operations and build a stronger foundation for transparency and public trust.
Create your first electronic form and process in this hands-on lab!
Perfect for anyone new to Laserfiche and automation, this session will show how you can use Laserfiche to increase efficiency and streamline work with electronic forms and automated processes. With Laserfiche Forms and Business Processes you can reimagine and automate tedious, time-consuming processes to regain time for your organization. This course will teach you how to:
Build an easy-to-use electronic form to standardize information
Route form information to the correct reviewer
Automate tedious tasks like sending emails and saving attachments
Learn how to create and manage users in Laserfiche with this hands-on lab!
Perfect for anyone getting started with administering a Laserfiche system using Laserfiche Directory Server, this course provides an overview of foundational user management concepts while highlighting best practices. Get familiar with the interfaces for managing users and groups while learning about common use cases and best practices to apply for your organization. This course will teach you how to:
Work with Laserfiche Directory Server to manage a Laserfiche system
Create users and groups while administering user licensing and access to Laserfiche applications
Leverage groups to simplify user management
Create and manage users in Laserfiche with this hands-on lab!
Perfect for anyone getting started with administering their Laserfiche Cloud system, this course provides an overview of foundational user management concepts while highlighting best practices. Get familiar with the interfaces for managing users and groups while learning about common use cases and best practices to apply for your organization. This course will teach you how to:
Create users and groups within Laserfiche
Leverage groups to simplify user management
Administer user licensing and access to Laserfiche applications
Configure account-wide default settings
Leverage your Laserfiche Forms and Workflow knowledge to expand your process automation capabilities and reimagine your organization’s processes. Gain practical knowledge to help you identify which features to use and how to successfully connect them in your solutions. This course will teach you how to:
Identify processes to streamline by connecting Laserfiche tools
Connect Laserfiche Forms and Workflow using activities like Workflow Service Tasks and Retrieve Business Process Variables
Pass information efficiently between tools to create a seamless user experience.
Leverage your Business Process and Workflow knowledge to expand your process automation capabilities and reimagine your organization’s processes. Gain practical knowledge to help you identify which features to use and how to successfully connect them in your solutions. This course will teach you how to:
Identify processes to streamline by connecting Laserfiche tools
Connect Business Processes and Workflows using input and output parameters
Pass information efficiently between tools to create a seamless user experience