Less than a month after announcing $3 million in funding for 44 local law enforcement agencies to help their drug task forces, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is seeking even more for narcotics intelligence.
At Day 2 of the Law Enforcement Drug Summit held by Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC), DeWine announced he is seeking $26 million as part of Ohio’s operating budget for narcotics intelligence that will support local law enforcement departments.
He said the $26 million would go toward hiring more staff at ONIC, as well as toward the purchase of new equipment and software.
“I’ve seen tremendous changes in law enforcement since I was a county prosecutor [in 1977.] One of the biggest changes is phones and computers. It’s a godsend for law enforcement, but it also presents grave challenges, particularly for small jurisdictions. How do you get the information out? How do you sort it? How do you get it in a useable form?”
That was some of the thinking behind the beginning of ONIC, DeWine said. The governor created the office in 2019 and outfitted it with a group of digital forensic and criminal intelligence experts to help Ohio law enforcement identify and disrupt the illicit drug market—especially in regard to drug-related violent crimes.
From 2019 to 2022, ONIC assisted local law enforcement on 3,200 criminal examinations, including the examination of 7,500 phones. DeWine said Ohio is identifying new drugs faster than ever before, and is tracing local drug dealers back to their suppliers in cases that result in convictions.
“We’ve asked for a doubling of support dedicated to ONIC to continue to build on the strong partnerships we already developed with local law enforcement and to assist more agencies throughout the state,” said DeWine.
DeWine’s proposed budget it currently with a conference committee after the Ohio House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on it. However, the governor says it is likely the legislative bodies will approve the increased monies for ONIC.
This news comes less than a month after DeWine announced the awarding of $3 million in funding for 44 local law enforcement agencies. The grants, from the 2023 Ohio Drug Law Enforcement Fund, will support drug task forces that impact 42 counties. The program, which is administered through the Office of Criminal Justice Services, is intended to help local agencies enhance the safety of Ohioans through multi-jurisdictional task forces.
The funds can be used by agencies to investigate drug trafficking organizations and disrupt the drug supply through intelligence gathering, information sharing and multi-agency coordination. The grants can also be used to support local work to help drug overdose victims and their families through education, support and treatment options.
Since taking office in 2019, DeWine has worked to aggressively target drug trafficking and substance use disorder. In addition to founding ONIC, DeWine immediately signed an executive order to create RecoveryOhio, which supports a variety of measures to combat the opiate epidemic by investing in the health and well-being of Ohio citizens. The program has worked to expand access to specialized court dockets to give judges flexibility to place defendants with mental health or substance use disorders into treatment rather than sentencing them to jail.