After 14 years, the infrared cameras mounted on Leon County sheriff helicopters are in need of replacement. Lieutenant Lee Majors is the LCSO aviation section commander. He says just like officers patrol in their cars, law enforcement takes to the sky on a regular basis to keep area residents safe. And he says the cameras help them do that at night.
“One of the main functions would be the thermal imager portion, which allows us to see at night using heat differential. They’ve also got color cameras in them which allows us to record things we see in the day time, or all of this can be live-linked like a live news feed to officers on the ground," Majors says.
Majors says officials expect one new infrared camera to cost about $450,000. The Sheriff’s office is looking to replace two of them. During an upcoming budget workshop city commissioners are expected to discuss a plan to share some of that cost with the county.
