Stimulus grant to fund new Ark. state police copter

By Chad Day
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Arkansas law enforcement agencies received $9.6 million in federal stimulus grants Thursday, including $3.5 million for a new Arkansas State Police helicopter.

The funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program was badly needed, said state police spokesman Bill Sadler.

The state police's current helicopter, an OH-58 Bell, has been kept functioning largely because of spare parts from a second aircraft over the past few years, and new parts were becoming difficult to locate.

In 2008, the agency declined more than 40 flight missions because of maintenance issues or equipment malfunctions.

"We knew the life expectancy of this particular helicopter was coming up," Sadler said of the aircraft which was acquired in 1996 from the military after it was discarded. "The clock was ticking." The helicopter, which was manufactured in 1972, also is not equipped with the proper equipment for dropping rescuers into hard-to-reach areas, a limitation that has had deadly consequences, Sadler said.

"There have been occasions where [because of the limitations of the current aircraft] our pilots weren't able to throw a lifeline to some people who were stranded in a creek, and the pilots actually watched a person die," he said.

The state police provides the only 24-hour search-andrescue helicopter to assist local law enforcement. About 75 of its more than 100 flights in a year are to assist local agencies.

It's still too early to know what type of helicopter will be purchased, but Sadler said it will be equipped with a hoist that will allow for the deployment of rescue crews into hard-to-reach areas.

"All it's going to take is for one life to be saved to make it worth it," Sadler said.

Members of the state police aviation section and state officials will meet today to draft a plan for purchasing a helicopter.

Other state law enforcement agencies will also be receiving funding for equipment. The grant allocates about $350,000 to the state Crime Laboratory to purchase microscopes and a robot used to extract toxicology samples, among other items.

Kermit Channell, executive director of the Crime Lab, said the new equipment will help the lab decrease the time it takes to get results to medical examiners and investigators.

The equipment also will add another layer of protection against compromising evidence in the lab.

"I think anytime you can implement robots it helps to limit anything that can happen in the lab as far as contamination," he said, noting that instances of contamination in the lab are rare.

The Information Systems Department will also receive about $1.4 million to upgrade and expand the state's wireless network for public safety agencies. More than a third of the grant - $3.9 million - will go to local law enforcement including $2.7 million for drug treatment and enforcement programs in 19 communities, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

The $2.8 million in grants is still available for local programs but has not been allocated yet. In a typical year, the grants make up $3 million in funding for Arkansas programs, according to the Finance Department.

Copyright 2009 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette