Last November voters in Douglas County passed a $45 million dollar Public Safety Bond. Various departments have been using the money to update emergency service equipment including the Omaha Police Department.
Able 1 fights crime from the sky for OPD. The technology used to see what’s going on below will soon be obsolete.
Lieutenant Mike Davis said the Able 1 helicopters need the technology updates, “The system we have now has worked great for us, it is just in the age we are in it is time for an upgrade.”
The current cameras on the helicopters are about five years old and the new ones will be a major upgrade.
“In theory it is supposed to be four times more clearer,” said Davis, “It will be crisp and it will be sharp edges.”
With money from the Douglas County Bond and help from the Omaha City Council, new Front Looking Infrared Cameras are being added to the fleet.
“It is something new, the job is the same and a lot better way of doing our job,” added Davis.
The job of Able 1 is a critical tool when helping OPD keep the city safe.
“It will update our camera systems and that will allow us to see things more quickly, really information more accurately to the officers on the ground, keeping the officers and the public safer.”
The new system is like giving the sky a new pair of glasses that can now see in high definition and help in long range surveillance.
“I can’t say for sure what it is going to look like, but we are pretty excited about it,” said Davis.
There are two new cameras that will have to be installed into the helicopters, that could take a couple months, but then they are good to go.
