(The Center Square) – Ohio taxpayers will spend $3.4 million for grants to Ohio law enforcement agencies.
The new round of grants will go to 44 agencies in 28 counties will hopes of reducing violent crime through additional personnel and technology upgrades, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.
The grants range from nearly $300,000 to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office a little less than $14,000 to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. It is the fifth year of funding through the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant program, which has awarded more than $87 million in taxpayer dollars.
Violent crime in the state has been trending downward, though the Legislative Budget Office noted in 2024 that it was not decreasing on pace with the national average. In general, crime has fallen dramatically since it spiked during the worst years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
DeWine’s office celebrated the disbursement, highlighting efforts in the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office and the North Olmsted Police Department.
In Hamilton County, the focus is on curbing domestic violence. The office will receive about $116,000 to hire two detectives for a team tasked with creating domestic violence units. The team will conduct lethality assessments in domestic violence cases while training staff in sensitive issues like interviewing and protective order enforcement.
Despite an overall reduction in violent crime, domestic violence has become more deadly in Ohio between 2024 and 2025. A report from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network showed an increase of 43 fatalities year-over-year with 157 Ohioans killed. Their ages ranged from 4 to 89, with 36 children witnessing the murder of a parent.
Among the perpetrators, more than half had criminal histories. Lethality assessments like those being employed in Hamilton County are aimed at identifying risk factors and providing intervention before the worst can occur.
In North Olmsted, funds are going toward crime prevention at the Great Northern Mall, allowing the police department to dedicate an officer to the site. The department says it will focus on implementing advanced technology and developing community partnerships.
The mall, like many across the country, has struggled to maintain its footing in the era of online shopping. The city has rezoned the location to allow for housing in addition to retail with the hopes of developing a mixed-use community.
Last year, a massage parlor in the mall was raided for human trafficking.
“Our task forces are cracking down on these unlawful and oppressive pursuits, reinforcing our message: Don’t buy sex in Ohio!” said Attorney General David Yost at the time of the raid.
Yost’s office was awarded $250,000 in this week’s round of grants.
“There is no shortage of innovative ideas that our local law enforcement agencies are using to combat violent crime in their communities,” said DeWine of the awardees. “Their work to implement crime-fighting technology and tactics is making Ohio safer.”
New technology being employed by law enforcement across the state includes developments in AI programs, license plate readers, the use of drones, audio detection of gunshots, and real-time crime centers.
Critics of the technology have raised concerns about privacy rights. They cite the potential for overextension and unforeseen consequences from the rapid deployment of new systems like Flock, which has been used to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
“The problem with mass surveillance is that it always expands beyond the uses for which it is initially justified — and sure enough, Flock’s system is undergoing insidious expansion across multiple dimensions,” wrote Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst at the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “If your community adopts this technology, you need to know it’s doing more than just recording what car is driving where and at what time.”
