National Police Air Service

National Police Air Service
National Police Air Service
Active	1 October 2012–present
Country	England; Wales;
Type	Police aviation
Operations jurisdiction	England; Wales
Headquarters	West Yorkshire Police Operations Centre, Wakefield, England
Abbreviation	NPAS
Equipment
Aircraft	Airbus Helicopters H135; Airbus Helicopters H145; Vulcanair P68R
Website
	www.npas.police.uk

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police aviation service that provides centralised air support to the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, as well the three special police forces serving that area.^[1] It replaced the previous structure whereby police forces operated their own helicopters, either individually or in small consortia (such as the South East Air Support Unit).^[2] The project was coordinated by Alex Marshall (the then Chief Constable of Hampshire Police).^[3] West Yorkshire Police is the lead force,^[3] and the service is coordinated from the NPAS Operations Centre, at Wakefield, West Yorkshire.^[4]

History[]

Rollout[]

NPAS became operational on 1 October 2012,^[5] and was rolled out across England and Wales in stages.^[3] The service provides 19 helicopters and four fixed wing aircraft, operating from 14 bases.^[6]

NPAS suggested that the Police Scotland Air Support Unit join the service to reduce costs.^[7] However that did not materialise.

Base closures[]

In February 2015, it was announced that, due to a 14% cut in revenue over the following three years, NPAS would be closing ten bases over two years.^[8]

Fixed wing operations[]

In response to slashed budgets, NPAS investigated the use of fixed wing aircraft, which are cheaper to fly and maintain. A new aeroplane base was created at Doncaster Airport, housing four fixed wing Vulcanair P68R aircraft.^[9] This became operational in early 2020.^[10]

Criticism[]

There was some initial criticism from forces around the service provided by NPAS when it began operation. This was primarily due to the reduction in number of bases and aircraft available, following general cuts by the UK Home Office to police funding. This led to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) conducting a case study of NPAS with its conclusions made public on 30 November 2017. The report commented at some length on the governance and funding of the service provided. The report specifically stated that there was no criticism of NPAS staff or its operational delivery. HMICFRS included the following observation in its press release:^[11]

With the number of bases being halved and the number of aircraft being cut by a third in the last 10 years, savings have primarily been made by cutting the service provided to forces rather than increasing efficiency. An inconsistent service means that many incidents requiring air support are over before a police helicopter can arrive. Moreover, we are concerned that the police service now operates insufficient aircraft to provide a consistently prompt response to incidents in all forces in England and Wales.
— HMICFRS, Planes, drones and helicopters: an independent study of police air support

Fleet[]

G-POLA An EC135 of NPAS, formerly from West Midlands Police, now based at Newcastle.

G-MPSC is one of NPAS' four EC145s that it inherited from forces that joined the scheme. The former Metropolitan Police helicopters have since been repainted and had the 'Metropolitan Police' markings removed, replacing simply with 'POLICE'

Eurocopter EC135 (Airbus H135) - 15^[12]
- One additional H135, formerly on long-term lease with the Norwegian Police Service, now serves exclusively as a training helicopter for new tactical flight officers^[13]
Airbus Helicopters H145 - four^[12]
Vulcanair P68R - four^[12]^[14]