Every activity of the Ohio Attorney General’s
Ofce — whether it’s assisting the criminal justice community, advocating for consumers, or representing the interests of state ofces and agencies — serves
our overarching goal of protecting Ohio’s families.
This report describes how we’re meeting the responsi-
bilities of the ofce and what we’re doing to help keepOhioans safe from crime, fraud, and abuse.In 2011, we set priorities, realigned resources, and co
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operated with other ofces, agencies, and organizationswhile staying rmly focused on our core mission.For example:• To combat crime, we improved processes and addedstaff at the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to makeit more efcient, effective, and responsive. Weworked aggressively to combat Ohio’s prescriptiondrug epidemic. And we created a new EconomicCrimes Division within our Consumer ProtectionSection to catch and prosecute scammers and
nancial predators.
• To prevent fraud and punish those responsible forit, we took action against individuals and businessesthat violate Ohio consumer laws and went after roguehealth care providers who bilk public funds with
bogus claims.
• To prevent abuse, we launched a Crimes Against
Children initiative to protect Ohio children from sexualpredators and renewed efforts to addresshuman trafcking.These and the many other initiatives described in thisreport represent the work of dedicated professionals in theOhio Attorney General’s Ofce. I am grateful for their com
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mitment to serve, and I look forward to building on the prog
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ress we made in my rst year as Ohio’s Attorney General.Very respectfully yours,Mike DeWineOhio Attorney General
Dear Ohioans,
BCI steps up services to local agencies
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) isworking to better serve local law enforcement by taking steps to reduce laboratory turnaround times, expanding its capacity to test sexual assault kits, and stafng anew ofce in Southeast Ohio.Attorney General DeWine — who has committed tomaking BCI the premier crime lab in the country — redi
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rected funding to add staff in key areas and undertakeother advancements.
Reducing turnaround times
Additional staff, a streamlined workow, and thevalidation of new robotics positioned BCI to reduce labturnaround times for DNA testing.DNA and Forensic Biology staffers participated in aweeklong assessment to analyze the bureau’s
testing procedures and identify efciencies. They founddozens of redundancies and extra steps that can beeliminated to reduce future turnaround times.Overall, the Laboratory Division worked 28,389 assign
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ments for 790 law enforcement agencies and examinedmore than 105,280 pieces of evidence. Staff membersalso logged more than 1,700 hours giving expert court
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room testimony and presented 1,200 hours of internaland external training.Under a new law requiring the collection of DNA from allfelony arrestees, the Combined DNA Index System (CO
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DIS) Unit saw intake rise from about 2,700 samples permonth to an average of about 4,600 beginning in July.On the second day the law was in effect, police collectedthe DNA of a man arrested in Madison County on a felo
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ny abduction charge. When the prole was entered intoCODIS, it matched previously unidentied DNA from the2001 rape of a 14-year-old girl in Montgomery County,giving police a suspect in a decade-old cold case.
Establishing new presence in Southeast Ohio
In August, BCI opened an ofce in Athens to betterserve Southeast Ohio counties with full-time polygraphand evidence intake services.Within its rst few months, the ofce worked more than300 cases and took in about 900 pieces of evidencefrom 35 submitting agencies.
Expanding sexual assault kit testing
BCI increased its capacity to test sexual assault kits toreduce the number of untested kits in storage at lawenforcement agencies and hospitals across Ohio and toincrease offender DNA samples in the CODIS database.The move followed a recommendation from the AttorneyGeneral’s Sexual Assault Kit Commission, which AttorneyGeneral DeWine formed to research problems associatedwith sexual assault kits and offer solutions.
To test old kits without delaying work on current cases,the Attorney General authorized the addition of fourforensic scientists who will work exclusively on old kits.BCI estimates only about 50 percent of kits are submit
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ted for testing for a variety of reasons.In addition, the Ohio Peace Ofcer Training Academy(OPOTA) ramped up sexual assault investigation train
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ing for law enforcement to emphasize interaction withvictims, victim advocates, and medical personnel.
Providing investigative support statewide
BCI’s Investigations Division opened 1,370 criminalcases in 2011, conducting investigations for 424 lawenforcement agencies in 86 of Ohio’s 88 counties.The division’s Clandestine Drug Lab/Cannabis Suppres
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sion Unit seized nearly 350 methamphetamine labs.Faced early in the year with the loss of federal fund
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ing to clean up after the highly hazardous meth labs itbusts, BCI channeled other funds to continue that work.Meanwhile, BCI worked with state and federal partnersto train its own agents and about 120 local law enforce
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ment ofcers to neutralize most chemicals used in thetop meth production method.To aid in the cleanup of labs using other productionmethods, BCI laid the groundwork to launch Ohio’s onlymethamphetamine waste pickup program by mid-2012.The Investigations Division’s Criminal Intelligence Unitprocessed 1,603 requests for assistance during theyear, serving a total of 411 agencies in all 88 coun
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ties. Many requests supported investigations into serialcrimes, drug trafcking, and theft in ofce.In a new assignment, BCI was selected to provide lawenforcement services at casinos set to open in Toledoand Cleveland in 2012. BCI formed a Casino Gaming Unit to handle the duties.
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TO VIEW RESOURCES
To view the Recommended Policy on Submissionof Sexual Assault Kits or see a list of Sexual As
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sault Kit Commission members, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/SexualAssaultKitCommission.
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