COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKBN) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) would be enhancing its aviation technology in order to offer improved air support to local law enforcement agencies.

As part of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program, approximately $6 million in funding will be awarded to the OSHP.

The funding is specifically going toward improving OSHP’s live-streaming aviation technology. As of now, OSHP’s current video streaming capabilities are generally limited to Columbus and Akron. In other parts of Ohio, pilots must describe what they are seeing to those on the ground.

“During dangerous and evolving situations, our OSHP flight crews have a birds-eye view of the scene below, but it’s just as important for on-site incident commanders to have this perspective as well,” said DeWine. “By extending this live-streaming technology across more parts of the state, OSHP will better support local law enforcement during emergencies by offering them the opportunity to see the same real-time aerial views that our flight teams are seeing from the air.”

This new equipment would be installed into existing Multi-Agency Radio Communication Systems (MARCS) towers in order to establish communications between flight crews and ground teams.