Call for Queensland police helicopter
What do you think?
The Courier Mail’s Cameron Atfield wrote on 5 Dec ’06 about the lack of a police helicopter in the large urban area of Brisbane.
Quote:
Monday afternoon's fatal police chase at Redcliffe has renewed Opposition calls for the State Government to fund a police pursuit helicopter.
Opposition police spokesman Rob Messenger said a specially equipped police helicopter would help police avoid high-speed chases.
"Common sense would tell you that you've got a far better chance of catching criminals safely using a helicopter," he said.
"Queensland police need a specially equipped helicopter to better pursue criminals and avoid high-speed car chases which put members of the public at risk."
But Police Minister Judy Spence said a police helicopter would not have helped avoid Monday's tragedy.
"I think it's very callous of the Opposition to bring this helicopter issue into the equation today less than 24 hours after a young girl's lost her life, when they would know that if the police had a helicopter it would be very unlikely it would have been in the air," she said.
"If it had been in the air over the CBD or at Logan City or the Gold Coast it would not have been at Redcliffe at that point in time."
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said getting aircraft in the Torres Strait and western Queensland was a more urgent priority for police than providing a helicopter in southeast Queensland.
"I do think the concept of a helicopter is probably a little bit over-rated," he said.
"We're about stopping and reducing pursuits, not continuing them on under new circumstances."
End:
Queensland has always been opposed to buying a police helicopter(s); they do have an airplane air wing to cart the bad guys around to/from court, etc.
What do readers think about the effectiveness of airborne surveillance helicopter in car chases. Is the Minister right?