In a 2018 investigation by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which includes the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other local newspapers in the state, it was found that an unknown number of warrants in local court systems were not getting uploaded into the national Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) or the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The DeWine-Husted administration took action and charged InnovateOhio with developing a free eWarrants technology to simplify the process for courts, attorneys, judges and police departments.
The new eWarrants database is accessible to sheriff’s offices and police departments across the state via an interface that can be integrated into the record management vendor systems agencies use. A paperless workflow is utilized for warrant packing and submission to the NCIC hot file, as well as warrant rejection due to errors or duplications, and warrant quash processing. eWarrants also includes dashboards and visual indicators to support CJIS requirements for timely submission of warrants and their corollary information into local, sheriff’s office, state and FBI systems.
The eWarrants interface can be used on desktops, laptops or mobile devices and is easily incorporated into existing systems by law enforcement, prosecuting attorneys, judges and clerks. For example, one sheriff’s department that already uses eWarrants reported that its application of the software to cases involving suspected drunken driving — where officers must have a warrant to draw blood and forcibly obtain breath or urine samples from drivers — reduced or eliminated the need to wait three or four hours for a warrant approval. Ewarrants