DeWine launches 'Ohio Crime Lab Efficiency Program'

May 18—Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced a new plan to reduce and eliminate evidence-processing backlogs and increase the speed at which criminal evidence is analyzed in crime laboratories across the state.

As part of DeWine's new "Ohio Crime Lab Efficiency Program," Ohio's 14 certified crime laboratories will receive a combined total of $10 million in efforts to additionally aid in general lab efficiency.

The crime laboratory grants are part of DeWine's overall strategy to support Ohio's criminal justice community in their work to solve crimes, hold criminals responsible, secure justice for victims, and keep residents safe.

"Ohio's forensic scientists and chemists are oftentimes unsung heroes working behind the scenes on criminal investigations, but their work is truly critical in helping law enforcement solve cases and protect citizens," DeWine stated in a news release.

"As we continue to help law enforcement officers with new tools to fight crime, it's just as important to support those in our crime labs with new tools to analyze evidence," he added. "The awards we're announcing....will help scientists do their jobs better and more efficiently to get crime-solving test results back into the hands of investigators sooner and violent criminals off the streets faster."

Awarded funds will be used to meet the individual needs expressed by each laboratory, such as new equipment and increased staffing to eliminate backlogs of DNA, firearm, trace, fingerprint, and drug evidence.

Funds will also be used to decrease the turnaround time of forensic toxicology and forensic pathology test results and to proactively prevent future backlogs associated with nationwide pandemic-induced increases in violent crime.

According to officials, Northeast Ohio regions include:

—The Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, which will receive a $1 million grant for overtime costs, new equipment related to fingerprint, firearm, and trace evidence backlog reduction, and to outsource some firearm evidence examination services

—The Lake County Crime Lab, which will receive a $250,000 grant for additional drug-testing equipment to allow for more simultaneous case analysis and for a new firearm water recovery tank to prevent a future backlog in firearm cases

—The Lorain County Crime/Drug Lab, which will receive a $250,000 grant for facility renovations to improve safety and efficiency and new equipment for backlog reduction of drug cases

—The Ohio State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory, which will receive a $1.25 million grant to replace drug-testing equipment that has reached the end of its useful life and to outsource some chemistry cases to reduce the current backlog

Ohio's crime laboratories attribute current evidence backlogs to workforce issues caused by the pandemic and the nationwide increase in violent crime, the release stated.

The grants are funded with American Rescue Plan Act funds dedicated by DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly to state and local first-responder agencies to counter increases in violent crime and to mitigate impacts on staffing levels and first-responder wellness caused by the pandemic.

Other initiatives recently launched by DeWine to counter pandemic-induced increases in crime include the new Ohio Ballistics Testing Initiative, which increases local law enforcement's access to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, and the new Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program to fund local strategies to reduce crime in local communities.

Since taking office in 2019, DeWine has launched several initiatives to assist law enforcement agencies in their work to protect the public and solve crimes.

Additional statewide offices include the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, Ohio School Safety Center, Ohio Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment, and the Ohio Office of First Responder Wellness.

DeWine, in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly, has also secured funding to help local law enforcement agencies extradite wanted offenders, enter warrants into state and federal databases, and pay for critical training.