COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Tuesday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the creation of the Ohio Stolen Gun Portal, a searchable website designed to increase public safety by helping to identify and recover stolen firearms.
The online tool – a first in the state – aims to protect buyers and traders from purchasing a stolen gun and to facilitate the return of stolen firearms to their rightful owners.
“With our new portal, when buying a used firearm, private citizens and firearms dealers can instantly check to see whether a gun was previously reported as stolen,” said Yost. “This is a tool for gun buyers and law enforcement alike that will lead to the recovery of stolen firearms and serve as a deterrent for criminals seeking to make a quick buck.”
To use the portal, users will log a serial number into the search box and the database will search for a match. If the database returns a match, users will be directed to notify the law enforcement agency that originally reported the firearm stolen.
Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn believes the new tool will help solve a lot of cases.
"I think it's fantastic because the majority of gun sales are private gun sales and people selling to friends, family; garage sales, what have you," said Wasylyshyn. "There are unfortunately a lot of stolen guns are out there, and this will be a great way for us to be able to recover stolen guns and solve crimes used with a stolen gun."
Ohio law enforcement agencies report the stolen gun information to the Law Enforcement Automated Data System or (LEADS) and that stolen gun information is placed into the database.
Eric Delbert, executive officer of L.E.P.D. Firearms in central Ohio, says there has been a need for a tool like the Ohio Stolen Gun Portal for a while.
“When we started our business 8 years ago, we recognized that changes need to be made to allow reputable stores such as ours the ability to provide customers the security of knowing if they purchase a used firearm from our store, it was not previously stolen," said Delbert. "Surprising to many, this was not the case in Ohio. We also foresaw an opportunity where this service could be utilized not just by any firearm enthusiast wanting to insure they were not supporting the illegal sale of firearms from criminals. AG Yost heard our experiences and set forth the resources to create this new program in Ohio. It is only one step to help reduce violence in our community, but it is certainly a small victory in helping take away avenues for thieves and criminals to advance their illegal activities of selling stolen firearms to unsuspecting good citizens.”
The portal is designed to update every 24 hours to add the latest reports on stolen firearms and to remove information on guns that have been recovered.
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