Retiring public safety director says crime down, state safer

COLUMBUS >> After 31 years in law enforcement, John Born has witnessed his share of crashes, crime and human misfortune. But it hasn’t made him cynical.

Ohio’s retiring public safety director said the secret to his optimism is in the numbers.

Born, set to leave his job with Republican Gov. John Kasich’s departure, said arrests for weapons violations, felonies and drugs have increased dramatically across Ohio since 2011. Violent crime is at its lowest rate since 1975. Traffic crashes and fatalities are at a nearlow in recorded state history.

Born, 55, head of the state’s Department of Public Safety since 2013, attributes those successes to a greater emphasis on safety and preparedness, advances in technology and analysis and collaboration across regions and agencies.

That has helped make Ohio a national model, Born said in an interview, citing a host of initiatives for improving law enforcement results in fighting human trafficking, improving school safety and easing access at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

He said the state’s drug overdose epidemic has helped reduce infighting and increased information sharing among law enforcement agencies.

“Crises tend to bring people together,” he said.

State troopers in Ohio have seized more than 625 pounds of heroin, worth $42 million, since 2011 and nearly 80 pounds of fentanyl since 2013. The top 10 largest heroin seizures in Ohio patrol history have taken place since 2011.

Despite such efforts, Ohio is still struggling to rein in opioid abuse, with a record 4,854 unintentional fatal overdoses in the state last year, with most of those deaths attributed to fentanyl, heroin and prescription painkillers.