How your agency is structured? 

The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) is a division within the Ohio Department of Public Safety. OCJS is the lead criminal justice planning agency for the State of Ohio. We also house Ohio’s Statistical Analysis Center.

Please list the federal and state grants your agency administers.

The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services administers the following federal grant funding streams: Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, STOP Violence Against Women Act funding, Family Violence Prevention and Services Act funding, National Criminal History Improvement Project funding and National Criminal History Improvement Project Supplemental funding, Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program, Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking, State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers, Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program Formula Solicitation, and Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Site-based Program.

State funding OCJS administers:

Body Worn Camera grant program, State Violent Crime Reduction grant program, Ohio Community Police Collaboration grant program, Casino Tax Revenue grant program, RecoveryOhio Drug Task Force grant program, RecoveryOhio Major Drug Interdiction grant program, Family Violence Prevention Shelter fund, Drug Law Enforcement fund, Ohio Anti-Human Trafficking fund, Governor’s Warrant Task Force Extradition fund, and Law Enforcement State Sexual Assault Kit fund

Please list your top three current priorities or focus areas.

• Law Enforcement Accreditation 

• The intersection of criminal justice and mental and behavioral health

• Deflection

What is the main thing you would like other NCJA members to know about your agency? 

We have an amazing staff at OCJS that share their knowledge and expertise and are willing to collaborate with local, state and federal agencies and non-profits. In addition to providing essential grant funding, OCJS also uses our Ohio Incident-Based Crime Reporting data to create criminal justice reports such as Crime in Ohio and Domestic Violence in Ohio to make informed funding decisions. Additional crime data reports can be found on OCJS’ Data, Reports, & Dashboards website. 

In addition to our grant funding and policy and research focus, we also house the Governor’s Human Trafficking Task Force as well as the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, under the guidance of Ohio’s Community-Police Advisory Board.