Colonel Frank R. Blackstone
Colonel
Frank R. Blackstone was a member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol for
30
years and served as superintendent from April 1975 to July 1976. Born March
8, 1922, in Columbus, Colonel Blackstone was educated in Columbus Schools
and
graduated from Columbus West High School in 1940. He worked a variety of
jobs after high school, then entered the U. S. Navy in 1942 where he served
three years before being honorably discharged. He filed his application
for the Highway Patrol a scant three weeks after his discharge, and entered
the "Fighting 19th" Academy Class three weeks after that.
Commissioned as a patrolman in March 1946, Colonel Blackstone served at the Lima, Findlay, and Columbus posts before receiving his transfer to general headquarters in 1950. While much of his career was spent supervising land acquisition, physical facility construction, purchasing equipment and services, and administering the division's contractual agreements, Colonel Blackstone's real forte centered on communications systems design and implementation.
He supervised the early development and planning of LEADS, the Law Enforcement Automated Data System, which ushered in a new era of division communications. Almost overnight, LEADS was able to provide a huge supply of vital information to the road officer within seconds. The impact of this communications breakthrough can be compared to the advent of the two- way radio in terms of increased officer safety and efficiency.
Colonel Blackstone also initiated the development of ALECS (Automated Law Enforcement Communications System), an eight-state regional law enforcement computer system which provided information on drivers and vehicles registered in the eight member states.
Another significant contribution to the field of communications was Colonel Blackstone's involvement in an innovative project called LEERN (Law Enforcement Emergency Radio Network). The LEERN system was designed to allow communication between different agencies from base to base, base to car, or car to car. Prior to LEERN, radio communication between officers of different departments was not possible.
Colonel Blackstone's extraordinary foresight into the projected needs of the division and his ability to initiate research and development to enable the division to meet those needs will forever be his legacy to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.