CoConutty's dead horse!
coconutty,
I am sure that "fly for Fun" didn't mean to imply that speed of arrival was the only important issue, - of course there are many others, but in my humble opinion, it is one of the most important. I have been closely involved with Police Air Support since 1984, - not the first by any means but nevertheless one of the longest so connected.
One of the first lessons we learned was the absolute need to get to the scene quickly (& remember I am talking about the days before FLIR ). Our role was containment, - the ability to prevent the escape of the culprit before adequate ground based resources could be got there. In the case of rural burglaries we were almost always the first on scene, and in extreemis were able to land and effect arrests if necessary.
We quickly established that as a general rule, unless we could be overhead the scene of the crime within 20 minutes from its inception, then our ability to affect the outcome declined rapidly (Because the culprit had already gone)
You will note that I said "From its inception" and not "From when we were called"
The same applies to vehicle pursuits. The huge danger to the public caused by high speed vehicle pursuits can be markedly reduced by having the pusuit taken over and managed from the air. Ground based resources can be dropped back, so as not to increase the danger to the public, BUT contact with the criminal will not be lost, as is so often the case when there is no air cover.
Vulnerable missing persons are another area where early location can & does save lives.
My concern, as I have said so many times is this:- If as a result of the planned restructuring, the jam becomes so thinly spread, then Police aircraft will routinely take more than that vital 20 mins ( And remember that is the outside figure) to getto the scene or where they are needed, and as a result its ability to help will be much reduced. Then at some point in the future someone will say " Just look at what that helicopter is costing, its always too late to do anything so we might as well do away with it all together."
Remember too, that both Cumbria and Hungerford, devoid of immediate air cover, went on too long and as a result people died.
I can recall that in the late 80's as a Chief Inspector in a busy city division remarking one night that if things didnt improve soon, the owners of Ford Escort XR3i's would be cutting notches in their car bonnets to record the numbers of times they had been stolen. Well things did improve, we got air support! That stopped ram raiding too!
So I agree speed of arrival is not the only consideration, but its a bloody important one!
Tigerfish