Associated Press - November 15, 2009 2:45 PM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A newspaper investigation has found that Ohio is lenient toward domestic violence, making arrests in a minority of cases and doling out little punishment to repeat offenders.

A four-month investigation by The Columbus Dispatch found that 45 percent of about 75,000 domestic violence responses by law enforcement end without an arrest.

Nearly 25 percent of law enforcement agencies don't follow a 25-year-old law requiring agencies to tell the state about domestic violence responses it makes.

The investigation found that domestic violence would overtake drunk driving as Ohio's top crime if police made arrests in all domestic violence calls.

The review found that domestic violence costs the state more than $1 billion a year in medical expenses and social services.

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

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