Lancaster County Sheriff Mark Reese said he sometimes feels as if his office operates in "the dark ages."
Handwritten cards are used to track service payments.
Identical data can be typed two and three times as a warrant works its way through the office.
Dozens of people call the office every day seeking information about the service of civil suits, information that could be made available online.
Thanks to a nearly $200,000 state grant that will be used to buy a new computer system, Reese is expecting operations to fly into the modern digital era.
"This is going to save thousands of hours and eliminate mountains of paper," Reese said.
The sheriff's office recently was awarded $196,614 by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for technology improvements.
Reese plans to use that money plus another $19,661 in in-kind services from his office to pay the $216,275 cost to buy and install the Teleosoft CountySuite Sheriff software.
Based in York, Teleosoft produces a variety of software products, including the CountySuite Sheriff series, which is tailor-made for running a county sheriff's office in Pennsylvania, according to Lt. Charles Hamilton of the Lancaster County sheriff's office.
"This isn't something that's being adapted for our use," he said. "It's built specifically for us."
Basically, the Teleosoft software will manage much of the office's clerical work and create opportunities for public review of certain office activities.
For example, Reese said, someone currently interested in having a deputy sheriff serve a civil suit must provide the paperwork and pay the office $150 up front.
The office charges a flat rate of $36.50 for that service, plus mileage traveled by a deputy between the county courthouse and the service location.
The deputy manually charts his or her activities in serving the suit and keeps track of the mileage traveled.
That information is provided to an office clerical worker, who then writes it down all over again.
The dollar amount to be charged for mileage is calculated by the clerical worker and subtracted from the $150 payment. Any money left over is returned to the customer via check that is handwritten by the office worker.
A handwritten card tracking each suit service and payment information is kept in a filing cabinet.
"Legibility is always an issue," Hamilton said. "Sometimes, you can't read what the card says."
With Teleosoft, all of that can be handled electronically - including printing the check to be returned to the customer.
"We physically wrote over 8,500 checks last year," Hamilton said.
Often, Reese said, attorneys and lawsuit plaintiffs call the sheriff's office to find out if their suits have been served to the defendants.
With Teleosoft, the status of a suit will be able to be searched online at the sheriff's office website.
"We're spending time on the phone talking to attorneys when they could go look for themselves," Reese said. "That time all adds up."
Teleosoft also is expected to help streamline the office's work with warrants, real estate sales, prisoner transfers and other duties, according to Hamilton.
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office will be the 13th in Pennsylvania to use the Teleosoft CountySuite Sheriff software.
Among the other counties using it are York and Berks, Reese said.
Hamilton said his goal is to have the Teleosoft system up and running by the end of the year.
Reese said he expects to eliminate 1.5 clerical positions in his office because of the efficiencies he anticipates from Teleosoft.
He said that would be accomplished through normal attrition.
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