At a point in history where gun violence and aggressive crime are at an all-time high, there are many heated debates, exchanges, and discussions on how to improve public safety and decrease criminal activity. While the rise in mass shootings and violent robberies mostly headline the news, many states are scrambling to find ways and enact measures that will reduce the amount of risk people face under their guidance and jurisdictions. One state that is taking matters into its own hands is Ohio with its new “criminal justice database system” that will make background checks more accurate through the process of paperless warrant and protection order reporting technology. The new Ohio paperless “eWarrants” program will be a useful tool in streamlining what can be a long and cumbersome background check process thus creating a safer environment for its citizens.

It’s hard to believe some of the statistics uncovered by this paperless project but out of the 17,500 warrants active in March 2019 for the most serious of crimes like homicide or aggravated assault over half were never entered into the federal National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. The governor’s warrant task force found that more than 217,000 warrants statewide were in LEADS, Ohio’s statewide criminal database, but only 18,000 of those were entered into the national database. This is an unacceptable disconnect of data and information as LEADS and NCIC are the systems that stop criminals from buying guns, and help police officers identify those with warrants or open protection orders against them. Now that two Ohio counties, Meigs to the south and Champaign to the west, are currently using the new paperless eWarrant system to its full ability (more counties coming soon) let’s look at some of the benefits already realized by this new paperless document management program.

Document Scanning “eWarrant” Records Management System Benefit #1: Better Data

Due to the new file imaging system, the number of warrants entered into NCIC database has since increased from 18,000 in March of 2019 to more than 220,000 as of June 2022, according to the Ohio State’s governor’s office. As the number of database entries increases at a rapid rate the data is simply getting better and better as time moves on.

Document Scanning “eWarrant” Records Management System Benefit #2: Faster Data

Given the new paperless records management system the Meigs County Common Pleas Court can now file bench warrants within 12 minutes of approval, according to Ohio’s governor’s office. The previously hand-delivered documents can now be uploaded directly by court clerks in a matter of minutes. This is a clear example of how going paperless can improve both efficiency and effectiveness.

Document Scanning “eWarrant” Records Management System Benefit #3: More Safety

A Columbus Dispatch investigation found that four Ohio Mahoning Valley courts fell behind on reporting the names of those banned from owning guns to the national background check system between 2015 and 2018. With this new paperless document management system, Ohio courts and law enforcement agencies can now catch criminal database entries that fall to the wayside because of the outdated, fragmented, inefficient, and technologically-obsolete warrant entry practices. 

As we can see from the above case study it is obvious that there are many benefits to going paperless and now the residents of Ohio are in a better place for it. From court systems to government agencies to hospitals to law offices developing the ability to create paperless environments is always a win, win for all involved. What is the number one area of your business, company, or organization that you think would significantly improve by going paperless?