Gov. Mike DeWine wants to establish a new system for tracking arrest warrants. He says the current system is puts police officers at risk.
DeWine says there are 250,000 warrants listed in the state’s law enforcement database. And he says there are at least that many more that aren’t there, but should be. And of that quarter of a million, he says only 18,000 warrants are listed in a national database.
“This puts the lives of officers at risk every single day. It gives these offenders the opportunity to victimize others as they continue to escape arrest,” he said.
DeWine is calling on Ohio lawmakers to come up with money for a new warrant database, much like the one in Kentucky, that connects with the national system. He says serious criminals should not have “safe zones.” Until that time, DeWine says law enforcement should make sure all warrants are entered into the current system within 48 hours of being issued.
