Buckeye Reporter

A grant program designed to enhance the accuracy and completeness of Ohio’s criminal-records repository will fund 77 new devices that courts across the state will use to capture defendants’ fingerprints for submission to the database, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on July 2.

“Fingerprints are a critical piece of the puzzle when verifying someone’s identity and checking their criminal backgrounds,” Yost said in a news release. “These grant funds are being invested in the courts to further modernize the record-keeping system by building in a more fail-safe process to collect fingerprints. In doing this, law enforcement, employers and even everyday Ohioans can have greater confidence in the system.”

Ohio law requires the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to maintain the state’s computerized criminal history (CCH), a database of fingerprints and criminal records based on information supplied by over 200 courts statewide as their cases conclude, according to the release. These records are relied upon for criminal investigations, prosecutorial charges, sentencing decisions, correctional supervision and release, and background checks for those applying for licenses or firearms purchases and those who work with children, older Ohioans, or people with disabilities.

The new machines, called LiveScan devices, will be distributed to courts in 42 counties. They aim to address gaps in defendant fingerprinting and automate courts’ submission of those fingerprints to the CCH.

The devices, which cost $898,450, were purchased through a National Criminal History Improvement Program grant administered by the Attorney General’s Office. It is one of several federal grants that Yost’s office has applied for and received in recent years to modernize various aspects of Ohio's criminal record-keeping and reporting processes.

Yost’s decision to fund the LiveScan devices was influenced by court feedback and supported by Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

“Courts are mandated to provide accurate reporting of criminal case information, supported by essential fingerprinting in background checks,” Kennedy said. “LiveScan devices will aid courts in fulfilling that statutory requirement by improving the efficiency of reporting, underscoring our commitment to prioritizing the safety of Ohioans.”

Records are added to the state’s CCH whenever an individual is arrested, has a court appearance related to a criminal case or is sentenced in a criminal case. Court clerks supply much of this data, including fingerprints which match a criminal record to an individual.

A defendant’s fingerprints can be captured at various stages within the criminal justice process; however due to logistical reasons fingerprinting sometimes falls through gaps. Courts can help law enforcement address these gaps by acquiring LiveScan machines creating a "belt-and-suspenders" approach that improves capturing fingerprints ensuring prompt submission into BCI's system.

“I’m pleased and grateful that so many judges and court clerks have stepped up solidifying their protocols doing their part keeping state’s criminal records current accurate as possible," Yost said.