DeWine Announces Completion of OSHP’s Aviation Technology Expansion
COLUMBUS, OH – Recently Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio State Highway Patrol announced a new advancement in aviation technology for local law enforcement.
This enhanced aviation downlink technology allows the OSHP Aviation Unit to transmit a live feed of aerial footage during active criminal investigations and emergencies.
Previously the downlink technology was only available to law enforcement units near the Columbus and Akron areas, but now 9 new downlink receivers are making it possible to transmit aerial footage to anywhere in the state.
Gov. DeWine says this is just one more tool for not just law enforcement but other emergency departments to make sure the public is safe.
“This is one more way, law enforcement can have a tool, whether they’re looking for someone who is missing, whether they’re chasing a fugitive, or any other type of investigation,” DeWine said. “This technology is going to enable the picture to come from that helicopter right down to the law enforcement officer or someone who is in the fire department, somebody else who’s involved in a search and see what can be seen directly from that helicopter, instead of just relying on the pilot.”
Ohio is believed to be only the second state in the U.S. cable of downlinking live aerial video footage from anywhere within state lines. On average, the OSHP’s Aviation Unit responds to over 1,000 support calls each year. DeWine hopes to install more of these downlink transmitters around the state very soon.
“We’re going to see more, we’re going to spread this out through the State of Ohio,” DeWine said. “We have the technology to do it, as long as we’ve got a helicopter up we can do this and we want to make it available to more people, more people in law enforcement, more first responders who may need that to save lives.”
The technology expansion was funded primarily with state and federal funding awarded through the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program.
