Hefty price tag for replacing Ohio’s background check system Posted on March 28, 2016 0 COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s proposed replacement of the state’s computerized criminal background check system comes with a hefty price tag. Five bids ranging from $5.97 million to $17.72 million have been submitted to replace the hardware and software of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s system, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The system was described by DeWine employees as “cobbled together” and “running on borrowed time.” It was reported last year that the system incorrectly returned results of clean records for some individuals to employers. Other issues included convictions not flowing into the system for months and the system not triggering automated arrest alerts. DeWine has pledged to move on from the faulty system. His office fined the current contractor, 3MCogent, for failing to properly operate and improve the system. Bidding was first opened last month but figures weren’t released until recently. DeWine’s office is teaming up with legislators to seek money in the upcoming state capital budget to fund the new system, which will use fingerprint-identification software to match arrests and convictions. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney says bids are currently in the evaluation stage and vendors will soon be asked to submit their final offers. The winning bid will be selected in late spring or early summer, and negotiations will then begin to settle final upfront and annual costs. ——— Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
