Just thinking aloud here, so don't everyone get in a state. This is supposed to be a discussion, not an attack.
How cost/result-effective are UK police helicopters? They cost an awful lot of money (£2,000-£4,000 per flight hour?), what main results do they get? Looking for missing persons, chasing car theives, covering public gatherings?
Would this money be best spent on other aspects of policing or crime prevention? How many police on the beat would a police helicopter budget buy? Do police helicopters prevent crime? Or do they reinforce the "them and us" problem for police and the public. (eg witness the unpopularity of police sitting in lay-bys with speed cameras).
Given the negative preception of the police in the wake of the Stockwell shooting and the G20 demonstration problems, do police helicopters help or hinder the public's perception of the police.
Over the USA every tin-pot county and city seems to have a police helicopter and it can seem to be because local politicans want their county/city to have one so they can feel superior. Does that happen here?
Do the UK public really want police helcopters? What do the public really think of them? Are they willing to see their taxes spent on them? Or would they prefer a few more local policemen/initiatives for young people etc?
I'd be interested to hear people opinions on this. Obviously all the police pilots out there will have an "pro helicopter" opinion, but what does everyone else think?
Last edited by flap flap flap; 14th May 2009 at 17:24.