Police aviation
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events and/or public order incidents. They may employ rotary-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, nonrigid-wing aircraft or lighter-than-air aircraft. In some major cities, police rotary-wing aircraft are also used as air transportation for personnel belonging to SWAT-style units. In large, sparsely populated areas, fixed-wing aircraft are sometimes used to transport personnel and equipment.
History[]
The first police aviation department was established in New York City.[1] Fixed-wing aircraft have generally been replaced by more versatile rotary-wing aircraft since the late 1940s. However, fixed-wing aircraft are still used in some missions, such as border patrol, as their higher speed and greater operating altitude allow larger areas to be covered.[1]
In 1921, the British airship R33 was used to help the police with traffic control around horse racing events at Epsom and Ascot.[2]
A large mural on the side of St. George's Town Hall in the East End of London depicting the 1936 Battle of Cable Street public order incident includes the police autogyro,[3] that was present during the incident, overhead.[4][5]
Rotary-wing aircraft[]
The most common form of police rotary-wing aircraft is the helicopter, but other types of rotary-wing aircraft such as autogyros are also used.[6][7][8] The Groen Hawk 4 autogyro was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.[9]
Police rotary-wing aircraft are sometimes equipped to perform multiple functions, or are designed so that equipment can be changed quickly when required for divergent roles. For example, a rotary-wing aircraft could be used for search-and-rescue, and then as an air ambulance.[10]
Police forces sometimes use military surplus rotary-wing aircraft, such as the Bell UH-1 Huey.[11] Some policing organisations, such as the Policía Federal in Mexico, acquire new military rotary-wing aircraft such as the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.[12] However, most buy civilian rotary-wing aircraft directly from major aircraft companies[13] or lease them from specialty suppliers.[14]
Fixed-wing and nonrigid-wing aircraft[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Conair-Marshal.jpg/220px-Conair-Marshal.jpg)
Some police air units also use fixed-wing aircraft, which allow higher and quieter surveillance,[1] making it less likely that suspects will become aware they are being watched. A few police air units, such as the Northern Territory Police in Australia, use only fixed-wing aircraft.[15][16] The use of fixed-wing aircraft also allows for longer flying times and incurs lower running costs.[17] Fixed-wing aircraft are also used to transport prisoners,[1] with the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (nicknamed "Con Air")[18] perhaps being the largest example of this use. Fixed-wing aircraft are also used to provide regular police patrols in remote communities and to transport investigators to remote crime scenes.[16][17] Light-sport aircraft[19] and powered parachutes[20][21][22] can sometimes be used to provide a cost-effective replacement for helicopters in the observation platform role.
The Edgley Optica was a British fixed-wing aircraft built for observation use and was used by the Hampshire Constabulary[23] as an alternative to rotary-wing aircraft.[24] The Britten-Norman Defender is used by the Greater Manchester Police,[25] the Police Service of Northern Ireland[26] and the Garda Síochána.[25] The FBI deployed one Britten-Norman Defender for electronic aerial surveillance at the Branch Davidian compound during the Waco siege in 1993.[27] In Greater London, the Metropolitan Police Service has, for a number of years, reportedly been secretly using Cessna aircraft that have been fitted with surveillance equipment capable of intercepting mobile telephone calls and listening in on conversations.[28]
Lighter-than-air aircraft[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/RNC_2004_police_airship.jpg/220px-RNC_2004_police_airship.jpg)
Police blimps were used to patrol the sky during the 2004 Republican National Convention,[29] the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.[30] The blimp Santos-Dumont, named for Alberto Santos-Dumont, operates in the Caribbean for the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad & Tobago (SAUTT), providing security surveillance. During April 2009, this blimp provided aerial surveillance of the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain.[31] Greater Manchester Police began trial operations of a blimp in 2010 to provide surveillance for major events, which would be a cheaper alternative to the use of a helicopter in the long term. However, the blimp was only used on 18 occasions because of weather-related operational problems.[32]
Unmanned aerial vehicles[]
Police in some areas have started using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, for surveillance operations.[33][34] Unmanned aerial vehicles come in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing types.
List of police aviation units[]
- Queensland Police Service[35]
- Western Australia Police Air Wing[36]
- New South Wales Police Force
- Victoria Police Air Wing
- South Australia Police
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Landeanflug_EC135_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Landeanflug_EC135_%28cropped%29.jpg)
- Hong Kong Government Flying Service[39]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Jornadas_Policiales_de_Vigo%2C_22-28_de_junio_de_2012_%287420043610%29.jpg/220px-Jornadas_Policiales_de_Vigo%2C_22-28_de_junio_de_2012_%287420043610%29.jpg)
- Police Aviation Service
- Macedonian police helicopter unit
- Royal Oman Police - Police Aviation Directorate
- South African Police Service Air Wing
- National Police Air Service
- Police Scotland Air Support Unit[citation needed]
- Police Service of Northern Ireland Air Support Unit
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/LAPD_Bell_206_Jetranger.jpg/220px-LAPD_Bell_206_Jetranger.jpg)
- LAPD Air Support Division[40]
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Aero Bureau
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Air Support Unit[citation needed]
- California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations[41]
- Phoenix Police Department Air Support Unit[42]
Disbanded police aviation units[]
Border guards and customs services[]
- CBP Office of Air and Marine
Maritime law enforcement agencies[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Guardia_Costiera_Piaggio_P-180_Avanti_II.jpg/220px-Guardia_Costiera_Piaggio_P-180_Avanti_II.jpg)
- Galician Coast Guard
- Icelandic Coast Guard Aeronautical Division
See also[]
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References[]
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- ^ "R33 - G F A A G 1916- 1921 : Early Life". The Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
- ^ "The Battle of Cable Street mural, Shadwell". London Mural Preservation Society. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ Museum staff (October 4, 2011). "How the East was won". The working life of Museum of London. Museum of London. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ David Botsford (1998). British fascism and the measures taken against it by the British State (PDF). Libertarian Alliance. p. 4. ISBN 1-85637-397-5. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Tomball Police Equipped with Gyroplane". Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Flying the Police Aircraft of the Future". Wired.com. 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Police Aviation News April 2011 p4" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Olympic Security Aided by Groen Brothers' Hawk". Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "allAfrica.com: Namibia: Air Wing to Cost Police Million". Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Photo of the UH-1H at the Airliners.net". Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Police Aviation News February 2011 p7" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "AgustaWestland Awarded Contract by the Maryland State Police Aviation Command". Archived from the original on 2010-10-24. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "UK Emergency Aviation - Aircraft Providers & Maintenance - Bond Air Services". Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Police Aviation News February 2011 p2" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Pilatus Aircraft Enthusiasts - NT Police". Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Airplanes are still a vital tool in law enforcement". Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Con Air: America's High-Flying Paddy Wagon". Usmarshals.gov. 2004-06-03. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Paur, Jason (2011-09-08). "California Sheriff Adds Light Sport Airplane To Fleet - Autopia - Wired.com". Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Powered Parachute". Riponpd.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ "Paragliders Give Cops an Eye in the Sky". Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ "Powered Parachute takes crime-fighting to new heights". Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ "No cause found for Optica crash". Flight International. 30 August 1986. p. 54. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ "About the Hampshire Police Air Support Unit at Lee on Solent". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "UK Emergency Aviation - UK & Ireland Police Helicopter Operations A-M". Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ "UK Emergency Aviation - UK & Ireland Police Helicopter Operations N-Z". Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ FBI brings out secret electronics weapons as Waco siege drags on, by James Adams. The Sunday Times, p. 23, 21 March 1993
- ^ Lewis, Jason; Blackmore, Andy (2011-10-29). "Met Police spends millions of pounds on secret aircraft". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Authorities are planning to employ a corporate blimp as an alternative intelligence gathering tool during next week's Republican National Convention in New York City". CNN. 2004-08-30. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ Lowry, N (June 2004), "Benign eye in the sky", Lloyd’s List Magazine, pp. 29–33
- ^ Chamoff, L (April 17, 2009), "Greenwich Firm's Blimp to Keep Eye on Summit in Trinidad", Stamford Advocate / Greenwich Time
- ^ "GMP's £80,000 police spy blimp is grounded - by the Manchester weather". Manchester Evening News. 11 November 2010.
- ^ "New Police Drone Near Houston Could Carry Weapons". Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ Bennett, Brian (2011-12-10). "Police employ Predator drone spy planes on home front". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "POLAIR - News, videos and community information from the Queensland Police Service Polair unit". POLAIR. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ Police, Western Australia. "Police Air Wing". Western Australia Police. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "Mission possible: Austrian Police Air Support". Vertical Mag. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ "Αστυνομία Κύπρου". www.police.gov.cy (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ "Government Flying Service - Service & Operation". www.gfs.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ "Air Support Division - Los Angeles Police Department". www.lapdonline.org. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ "Office of Air Operations". www.chp.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "Police Air Support Unit". www.phoenix.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron is Sea-Going Drug Smuggler's Worst Nightmare". spacecoastdaily.com. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
External links[]
- Atlanta’s bombing fallout (Law Enforcement News)
- Aviation Units in Large Law Enforcement Agencies Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Blimp to provide convention coverage for police (CNN)
- Defender BN2T-4S operated by Irish Air Corps for Gardai (Irish police force)
- Police Aviation News
- UK Police Air Support Information & Operational Info + Gallery
- Police aviation
- 1919 introductions