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How Ohio's Opioid Crisis Is Affecting The State's Crime Lab

Ohio Attorney General's office
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation

Ohio’s opioid crisis is causing problems for the state’s crime lab. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which processes chemical evidence for cases throughout Ohio, is having a hard time getting everything done on a timely basis. So, the lab has come up with a solution.

B C I Superintendent Tom Stickrath says the crime lab is not only handling more cases because of the opioid crisis, it’s also handling more complicated cases. 

“We’ve been adding staff as we have recognized this issue over the last twelve months or so. We’ve been adding some equipment, adding some staff but we are also going to outsource some of this work.”

Strickrath says some work will be outsourced to some coroners' labs in Hamilton and Cuyahoga counties. He says the legislature gave BCI and other crime labs about $2 million to pay for this expanded effort.

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.
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