Gov. DeWine announces launch of eWarrant system to improve Ohio’s background check process

COLUMBUS — Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced Wednesday the official launch of Ohio’s new eWarrants system, a statewide criminal justice database that will improve the accuracy of state and federal background and streamline the process to file warrants and protection orders in Ohio, according to a media release Wednesday.

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“We developed the new eWarrants system to help our criminal justice agencies overcome the information-sharing barriers that have left dangerous holes in our background check systems,” Governor DeWine said in a news conference Wednesday.

“Agencies that use the eWarrants interface will be able to get up-to-date, comprehensive information into the hands of law enforcement nationwide almost immediately,” he said, “so that they can better protect the public, protect themselves, and prevent the illegal purchase of firearms.”

Meigs County Common Pleas Court, the first agency to bring the eWarrant system online, has reduced its bench warrant filing time to as little as 12 minutes, the release said.

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“The eWarrant database will also serve as an important efficiency tool for Ohio’s law enforcement agencies, freeing up time and resources for other law-enforcement priorities,” said Lt. Governor Husted.

“We encourage our local criminal justice partners to take advantage of this free and efficient system, which make the filing process for warrants faster and background checks more accurate,” Husted added. “This will save lives and tax dollars.”

The Champaign County Common Pleas Court also recently began using eWarrants, the news release said.

The Ohio Department of Public Safety is currently conducting outreach to additional agencies in all 88 counties to encourage use of the free system.

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