On the Job 

For the past 27 years, the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission (OOCIC) has provided a means for local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecutors to bring down organized criminal enterprises operating across multiple jurisdictions. Several task forces exist at any given time, with new groups forming and others disbanding as needs dictate. About 15 staff members — led by Executive Director Rocky Nelson — support the task forces’ efforts, and their thoughts on OOCIC’s work are compiled here.

Karen Beaudin knows the sorrow of losing a loved one to homicide and the anguish of seeing the crime go unsolved. Her 13-year-old sister was raped and murdered in 1971.

Strategies that have produced drastic reductions in gun-related crime in cities around the country form the foundation for Attorney General Mike DeWine’s new Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.
In Boston, youth homicides fell by two-thirds and all homicides by half. In Cincinnati, homicides involving gangs dropped 41 percent and other violent firearms incidents fell 22 percent. In Chicago, a program aimed at parolees returning to certain neighborhoods cut homicides by almost 40 percent.

Police Sgt. Mike Lang chased more than 100 leads while investigating the 2001 rape of a 14-year-old girl by a man who climbed through her bedroom window.

It is crucial that Ohio sexual assault victims have access to adequate victim services.
 
Thankfully, victim services have changed dramatically since I was a county prosecutor in the 1970s, when crime victims were lucky if their “services” included an ambulance or cruiser. Today, my office provides resources for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, identity theft, patient abuse and neglect, and many other crimes. We also administer grants that fund nearly 300 victim service programs across Ohio.

The Attorney General’s Office has expanded Ohio’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to include nearly 600,000 palm prints, and it’s preparing to connect it with the FBI’s new national database that’s 10 times that size — and growing.

Among the 250 people attending a recent Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy course on school shootings were about 150 teachers, administrators, cooks, bus drivers, and custodians from Amanda Clearcreek Local Schools. There, too, were six members of the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, which provides law enforcement services to the district.

Reaching vulnerable populations with victim services can require looking at situations from a different angle. Already adept at recognizing victims’ needs and challenges, those who work in the advocacy and law enforcement fields are well-positioned to help.

Attorney General Mike DeWine launched the Crimes Against Children Initiative in 2011, assembling investigators, prosecutors, victim advocates, and law enforcement trainers to better protect Ohio’s children. The team focuses on identifying, arresting, and convicting people who prey on children through sexual and other forms of abuse, child pornography, solicitation of minors, and similar crimes.

Offering free training courses that increase law enforcement agencies’ capacity to protect kids is a major priority of the Crimes Against Children Initiative. To register for courses highlighted below, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/OPOTA.