Sorry VR & HM - but just look again at the experience that I was intimating in the first place, i.e.
ex-military aviators. Guys like that will have more aviation experience,
before doing any Police work, than a Police Observer is likely to get in a typical career in Police aviation. That's where the experience benefits the job, and don't forget it's only a small proportion of the team, maybe 15-20% of the Unit Observer strength.
More importantly, the best Police Observers I've seen in the last 10 years are either ex-military who've turned Police, or so young in Police service that they've only got a couple of years experience to call upon anyway. They all support the argument that long Police service does not,
necessarily, a good Observer make!
That's not to say that there aren't some very good Observers who've known nothing else but Police - but the military mindset is a lot closer to that of the Police than many, who've not experienced it, might think . . . just a little more professional, IMHO!!
(Oh no, that'll set 'em off again!)