Depends on the Bean Counters!
In operational terms there has been an accepted rule in Police air Support, & its called the 15 - 20 minute rule. i.e. the aircraft with all its High Tech equipement can only be truly effective if it can be overhead the scene of the incident in a maximum of 15 - 20 minutes. After that the chances of the criminal still being around to catch are minimal.
That rule is well understood and has seen us well for many years. In the main it is fairly well accepted by the Senior Officers further up the line.
But with these super forces and devolved budgets etc etc there is a growing danger that they will try either to make the existing numbers of machines cover a greater area or worse still to try & reduce the numbers of machines.
If that happens effectiveness will rapidly drop off & then the ******* bean counters will say "They are not cost effective - we do not need them at all).
Sadly air support is now seen as just another resource, many Senior Officers have forgotten what it was like before we had it. Ram raids, are in the main, just a memory, and extended pursuits rarely happen now. The bean counter not understanding why that has happened will try to save the money.
UK Police Aviation is currently one of the best & most effective services in the World. I hope & pray it remains so.
The only real way of ensuring it remains effective is to take it out of the control of local forces & make it a Regional or National resource.
Tigerfish