DeWine announces $6 million in funding for OSHP aviation support

COLUMBUS — More money is going toward helping the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) enhance aviation technology to improve air support across the state.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Monday that approximately $6 million in funding will be awarded to OSHP. The funding is part of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program, which was created in 2021 to give local law enforcement additional tools to address violence and fight crime.

>> Recent UD graduate identified as man killed after car falls on top of him

The funding will go toward improving OSHP’s live-streaming aviation technology. Currently, the department’s streaming capabilities a generally limited to Columbus and Akron. Pilots in other parts of the region have to describe what they are seeing via radio to crews on the ground.

“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,” DeWine said in a release.

A spokesperson for DeWine’s office said that the new equipment would tie into new and existing “Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) towers to establish communication between the flight crew and the ground.”

© 2023 Cox Media Group