Police aviation

Not to be confused with Air Police.
"Police helicopter" redirects here. For the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, see The Red Hot Chili Peppers (album).
Swedish police with a Bell 429
A Eurocopter AS365 N3 Dauphin 2 of the Victoria Police Air Wing.

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.

An EC135 P2+ operated by the Surf Life Saving Queensland Aviation for the Queensland Police Service


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The first police aviation department was established in New York City.[1] Fixed-wing aircraft have generally been replaced by more versatile rotary-wing aircraft since the late 1940s.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

A Groen Hawk 4 of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command

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]

The use of police helicopters by the Los Angeles Police Department has been criticized for causing excessive noise and pollution and harming the well-being of community members.[15]

Fixed-wing and nonrigid-wing aircraft

A U.S. Marshal on a "JPATS" flight.

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.[16][17] The use of fixed-wing aircraft also allows for longer flying times and incurs lower running costs.[18] Fixed-wing aircraft are also used to transport prisoners,[1] with the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (nicknamed "Con Air")[19] 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.[17][18] Light-sport aircraft[20] and powered parachutes[21][22][23] 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[24] as an alternative to rotary-wing aircraft.[25] The Britten-Norman Defender is used by the Greater Manchester Police,[26] the Police Service of Northern Ireland[27] and the Garda Síochána.[26] The FBI deployed one Britten-Norman Defender for electronic aerial surveillance at the Branch Davidian compound during the Waco siege in 1993.[28] 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.[29]

Lighter-than-air aircraft

A Skyship 600 used for observation by the NYPD during the RNC in 2004

Police blimps were used to patrol the sky during the 2004 Republican National Convention,[30] the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33]

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Main article: Use of UAVs in law enforcement

Police in some areas have started using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, for surveillance operations.[34][35] Unmanned aerial vehicles come in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing types.

List of police aviation units

 Australia

An EC 135 of the German Federal Police
 Austria
 Canada
 China
 Cyprus
 Hong Kong
 Indonesia
 Iran
 Ireland
 Japan
 Malaysia
 Mexico
An MBB Bo 105 of Spain's Cuerpo Nacional de Policía
 Netherlands
 North Macedonia
 Oman
 Panama
 Philippines
 Romania
 Saudi Arabia
 Serbia
 South Africa
 Taiwan
 Uganda
 United Kingdom
 United States of America

Many local, state, and federal US law enforcement agencies operate helicopters, and some operate fixed-wing aircraft.

Federal agencies
Arizona
California
An LAPD Bell 206 Jetranger
Colorado
Connecticut
  • Connecticut State Police - Emergency Services Unit - Aviation Section
  • New Milford Police Aviation Unit[56]
Delaware
  • Delaware State Police Aviation Section[57]
District of Columbia
Florida
  • Alachua County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Collier County Sheriff's Office Aviation
  • Bay County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Brevard County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Broward County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Citrus County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Collier County Sheriff's Office Aviation Bureau
  • Escambia Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Florida Highway Patrol Aviation Unit
  • Hernando County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Aviation Section
  • Indian River County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Lake County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Lakeland Police Department Aviation Unit
  • Lee County Sheriff's Office Aviation
  • Leon County Sheriff's Office Aviation Section
  • Manatee County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Marion County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit - at least four helicopters[59]
  • Martin County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Miami Police Department Aviaton Unit
  • Miami-Dade Police Department Air Support Unit
  • Monroe County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Orange County Sheriff's Office Aviation Section
  • Osceola County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Pasco County Sheriff's Office Aviation Section
  • Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Flight Unit
  • Polk County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office Air Unit
  • Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Seminole County Sheriff's Office Aviation
  • St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Sumter County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Tampa Police Department Aviation
  • Volusia County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit "Air One"
  • West Palm Beach Police Department Air Support Unit
Maine
  • Maine Forest Service Forest Protection Aviation Branch[60] - 2 Bell 407 helicopters, 5 UH-1H (Huey) helicopters, and 3 fixed-wing aircraft
  • Maine Marine Patrol[61] - 1 Kodiak 100 fixed-wing aircraft[62]
  • Maine State Police Air Wing[63] - 2 Cessna 183 fixed-wing aircraft
  • Maine Warden Service Aviation Division[64] - 3 fixed-wing aircraft
Maryland
Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts State Police Air Wing[69]
Nevada
New Hampshire
  • New Hampshire State Police Special Enforcement Unit (SEU)[71]
New Jersey
  • New Jersey State Police - Special Operations Section - Aviation Bureau[72]
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
  • Anderson County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Greenville County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
  • Richland County Aviation
  • Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit
South Dakota
Tennessee
  • Jackson Police Department Aviation Unit
  • Memphis Police Department Air Support Unit
  • Metro Nashville Aviation Section
  • Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations
Texas
  • Austin Police Department Air Enforcement Unit
  • Bell County Regional Air Support Unit
  • Dallas Police Department Helicopter Unit
  • El Paso Police Department Aviation Unit
  • Fort Worth Police Air Support Unit
  • Houston Police Department Helicopter Patrol Unit
  • San Antonio Police Helicopter Detail
  • Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Section
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Disbanded police aviation units

 United Kingdom
 United States

Border guards and customs services

 Estonia
 Italy
 United States

Maritime law enforcement agencies

A Piaggio P-180 of the Guardia Costiera
 Iceland
 Italy
 Spain
 United States

Uganda Police Airwing Piaggio Avanti Evo P180 Sokol W3A Augusta 109SP Bell 206L

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aircraft in police service.

References

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