Crime in Ohio

{{Further|List of law enforcement agencies in Ohio}}

In 2008, Ohio had 831 state and local law enforcement agencies.{{cite web|url=http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/csllea08.pdf|title=U.S. Department of Justice, Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008, p.15|access-date=21 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010224733/http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/csllea08.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2012|url-status=dead}} Those agencies employed a total of 37,295 staff. Of the total staff, 25,992 were sworn officers (defined as those with general arrest powers). In 2008, Ohio had 225 police officers per 100,000 residents.

In 2014, the United States Department of Justice published a report that investigated the use of force by the Cleveland Police Department from 2010-2013. The Justice Department found a pattern of excessive force including the use of firearms, tasers, fists, and chemical spray that unnecessarily escalated nonviolent situations, including against the mentally ill and people who were already restrained. As a result of the Justice Department report, the city of Cleveland has agreed to a consent decree to revise its policies and implement new independent oversight over the police force.Oppel Jr., Richard A. (December 4, 2014). [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/us/justice-dept-inquiry-finds-abuses-by-cleveland-police.html?_r=0 Cleveland Police Cited for Abuse by Justice Department]. Retrieved December 15, 2014.

File:Ohio Prison Population.svg

The Ohio prison system is the sixth largest state prison system in the United States, and it is operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. As of 2015, the cost per prisoner was approximately $69 per day.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/people/ohio-state-prison-facts.aspx|title=Ohio State Prison Facts|access-date=2018-10-05}} As of November 2016, Ohio's prison population consisted of 51,064 inmates. Overcrowding in prisons has been an issue in the state, with that rate sitting at 132.1% in 2016. The funding of the criminal justice field by the state has been on the decline (a cut of $150 million in the last ten years), and prisons are receiving less money as the prison population is growing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.policymattersohio.org/research-policy/quality-ohio/revenue-budget/budget-policy/ohio-budget-101-a-basic-overview|title=Ohio budget 101: a basic overview|website=www.policymattersohio.org|access-date=2018-10-05}} The rates of violent crime in Ohio have decreased throughout the last few years,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeStatebyState.cfm|title=Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics}} but the prison population has not decreased with the reduction in violent crime. Nationally, states contribute about 5% of their overall funds to the corrections field.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/policy-basics-where-do-our-state-tax-dollars-go|title=Policy Basics: Where Do Our State Tax Dollars Go?|date=2009-04-10|work=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities|access-date=2018-10-05|language=en}}

Nurses have been logging in more overtime hours in the Ohio prison system, and it is costing the state's taxpayers millions of dollars. Potential nursing candidates do not want to work in the correctional environment, and supply is not meeting demand. With a shortage of nurses, there is no choice but to send those already hired into overtime pay to properly supply inmates with the care they need.{{Cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/overtime-pay-for-prison-nurses-costs-millions-of-tax-dollars/485813831/|title=Overtime pay for prison nurses costs millions of tax dollars|work=Star Tribune|access-date=2018-10-05}}

Ohio's unemployment rate was 4.6% as of August 2018, with its highest rate of unemployment occurring in January 2010 (11.1%).{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.oh.htm#eag_oh.f.1|title=Ohio Economy at a Glance|website=www.bls.gov|access-date=2018-10-05}} There are racial disparities in Ohio's prison system, with African Americans and Latinos being overrepresented compared to the number of whites. In 2010, African Americans were over five times more likely to be incarcerated than whites in Ohio, and Latinos were two times more likely than whites.{{Cite web|url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/OH.html|title=Ohio profile|last=Initiative|first=Prison Policy|website=www.prisonpolicy.org|language=en|access-date=2018-10-05}} Studies show that high rates of crime and poverty are usually located within the same geographical areas. These studies indicate that where there is unemployment, there is poverty, and where there is poverty, there are often minorities. Research also shows that inequalities among races can influence the crime rate within a given area.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaldialoguenetwork.org/poverty-and-crime/|title=Poverty and Crime {{!}} National Dialogue Network|website=www.nationaldialoguenetwork.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-05}}

As of May 2016, Ohio employed 74,090 jobs relating to the Criminal Justice field. The highest paying job in the field was that of a lawyer (14,960 employed in the state), making a mean annual wage of $105,520. Law clerks (1,460 employed in the state) were the lowest paid employees, making a mean annual wage of $35,740.{{Cite web|url=https://www.criminaljusticeprofiles.org/ohio-criminal-justice-jobs.html|title=Criminal Justice Jobs, Careers and Salaries in Ohio|website=www.criminaljusticeprofiles.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-01}}

Issue 1 was on the ballot in the November 2018 general election in Ohio, and it included reformed sentencing for drug offenses. If it had been passed by the voters of Ohio, drug offenders would have been charged with misdemeanors instead of felonies, and drug offenders on probation could not be sent to prison because of a violation of their probation that was non-criminal. If Issue 1 had been implemented, the state would have been required to utilize the money it saved from the decline of inmates on new programs that help rehabilitate offenders in a more productive manner.{{Cite news|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Ohio_Issue_1,_Drug_and_Criminal_Justice_Policies_Initiative_(2018)|title=Ohio Issue 1, Drug and Criminal Justice Policies Initiative (2018) - Ballotpedia|work=Ballotpedia|access-date=2018-10-05|language=en-US}}

Issue 1 was not passed by the voting citizens of Ohio. Polling results yielded an approval rate of 36.6% and a rejection rate of 63.4%.{{Cite news|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Ohio_Issue_1,_Drug_and_Criminal_Justice_Policies_Initiative_(2018)|title=Ohio Issue 1, Drug and Criminal Justice Policies Initiative (2018) - Ballotpedia|work=Ballotpedia|access-date=2018-11-28|language=en-US}}

{{Main|Capital punishment in Ohio}}

Capital punishment is applied in Ohio.{{cite web|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/execut3.htm|title=Facts about capital punishment - the death penalty|access-date=21 November 2018}}

• Law of Ohio

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{{Ohio}}

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