(INDIANAPOLIS) Indiana Inspector General David Thomas announced that Indiana has been selected to host the National Association of Inspector General (NAIG) Conference in the year 2010. Thomas and State Ethics Director Cyndi Carrasco attended the 2008 NAIG conference in Columbus when Indiana was selected. At the invitation of Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and US Senator John Glenn attended the 2008 event and visited with the attendees. Senator Glenn, known for his historic space flight efforts, was a sponsoring member of the federal Act creating and empowering the nation’s federal Inspector General system, and was honored at the Columbus event for his support.
The NAIG is the sole national association for the nation’s inspector generals. There are approximately 57 federal, 8 state-wide, and multiple other city and state-agency inspector general offices throughout the nation, each office with many deputies and supporting staffs. Several hundred persons attended the Columbus event and are expected to attend the Indiana event to share ideas on this growing development in government to fight fraud and inefficiency.
The Indiana Office of Inspector General was created by Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. by Executive Order on his first day in office in 2005. The Indiana Legislature adopted and refined the Indiana model later that same year. Indiana’s model is unique in that it is a law enforcement agency with prosecutorial powers and additionally addresses state Code of Ethics issues in addition to the traditional efficiency issues addressed by other Inspector Generals. Thomas reports at the three-year anniversary for the Indiana model over 50 criminal arrests, over 100 published investigatory reports, a state-wide web-based ethics training program which monitors compliance for all state employees, multiple successfully implemented IG Recommendations, and savings exceeding operating expenses. These results may be viewed in the office’s 2007 Annual Report.