New helicopter technology to fight crime in Nassau County

MINEOLA, N.Y. (WABC) -- Officers now have the ability to get a birds' eye view of the suspects they're chasing no matter where they are.

The Nassau County Police Department is the first in the region that has new helicopter technology that allows the chopper's images to beam right to their patrol cars or tablets.

It can change how they fight crime.

A man wanted for breaking into cars around Carle Place trying to get away from Nassau County officers couldn't escape their latest technology.

But the suspect didn't get too far thanks to an advanced thermal camera now being used by the Nassau County police department on its chopper, and they're taking it a step further.

"So what you're seeing right now is a live feed that's coming from Aviation Unit Helicopter 5," a police officer said.

The police department is now making it possible for what's seen up above to go right to screens in supervisors' vehicles on the ground.

The video can also be streamed in real time to officers' iPads and smart phones.

"There's that better communication now because now we're talking on the same sheet of music as to what's going on in real time which is the critical," said Det. Lt. Ken Strigaro, of the Nassau County Police.

It's the first technology of its kind in the region and was made possible by a multimillion dollar grant from the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard.

"What we have now is the ability to push that information from the aircraft right down to the street supervisors, so we're really connecting the street supervisors with an asset we've had for years but in a much better position now to do this," said Deputy Chief Kevin Canavan, of the Nassau County Police.

The zooming capacity on the helicopter's camera is so good that from 800-1,000 feet it can zoom all the way in to read a license plate.

"Get very good definition facial recognition, definition on a subject you might be looking for," Canavan said.

The video can also be viewed in real time at the county's 911 center, allowing everyone to be on the same page.