National News
Fix on way for Ohio's broken criminal-background check system
November 10, 2016 posted by Steve Brownstein
The office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has awarded a $10.8 million contract to replace the state’s broken criminal background-check system.
NEC, of Rancho Cordova, Calif., was deemed to have submitted the best among five bids accepted in February, said DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said Wednesday.
The new system, which DeWine wants up and running promptly, will cost $1.18 million a year to maintain and support. Money for the replacement system was allocated by lawmakers in the state capital budget.
WBNS-TV (Channel 10) and The Dispatch reported last year that the current system erroneously informed some employers that criminals had clean records, while other convictions did not flow into the system for months. In emails, the system was described by DeWine employees as “cobbled together” and “running on borrowed time.”
Another problem surfaced last summer when hundreds of teachers, foster parents and others escaped detection of their criminal charges when the system did not trigger arrest alerts to employers and officials.
DeWine pledged to replace the troubled system operated by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and hired a consultant for $474,224 to help design hardware and software requirements. The system uses fingerprint software to match up arrests and convictions.
Cost-wise, NEC’s bid was at the mid-point among the five bidders. The current background-check system contractor, 3MCogent of Pasadena, Calif., submitted the highest bid at $17.7 million. 3MCogent has been fined and criticized by DeWine’s office for failing to properly operate and improve the system.
BCI runs more than 1.3 million background checks a year for public and private employers and provides the criminal-history information used by police officers statewide, as well as the FBI.
