COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says a new unit at the state crime lab will handle old evidence kits collected from victims of suspected sexual assaults.

DeWine's office said Monday that the unit of four forensic scientists is expected to handle 1,500 cases its first year and double that amount in following years.

A new recommended policy from an attorney general's commission says law enforcement agencies should submit any old or new kits to a state lab regardless of whether a decision has been made to prosecute. There was no previous policy on submitting kits.

The policy says the moves will ensure that offender DNA makes it into police databases.

DeWine's office expects the amount of kits sent to labs to increase to 90 percent from a current 50 percent.

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