JAFO,
In my case, No hard evidence, just a history of working with the issue since 1984. Time & time again, Ive seen Police observers sticking with a search, or searching a particular area for no obvious reason except their police experience and "nose" told them to.Very often a well hidden prisoner has resulted.
Neither have I ever been convinced that it is a good idea to spend shed loads of money on any piece of kit and then not get the best bang for the buck out of it. And for me the key to all of that is in having the best and most proffesional pilot you can find, and the best and most experienced thief takers you can have as observers.
The accountant, bless their hearts, seem to think that money can be saved by using civvi observers. But can it? Lets look at it.
Firstly by the time you have set the pay scale point, having regard for all the skills required, flying pay etc etc, then added shift allowance and weekend enhanced pay etc you are rapidly approaching the sort of money you would be paying the Police officer.
Now lets look at the negatives. Aircraft can and do go wrong, weather can on occasions become unflyable, for periods of more than one day. A number of other issues can, and from time to time will, ground the unit. With the police observers you can re-deploy them to ground based units for ordinary patrol duties ( There is a school of thought that says that you should do this anyway from time to time to keep them aware of real policing ) BUT you cannot re-deploy a civvi observer. He or she will have a contract and that is that. They have little flexibility in their use.
As I said you just spent a fortune on the aircraft, you MUST now get the best out of it. Its a POLICE aircraft, required to do a POLICE job. The Pilot (in the UK anyway) will by necessity be a civilian. I suggest the observers making the POLICE operational decisions need to be police officers too!
Several forces have tried using civilian observers, but none have found the arguement so cost effective that they have shouted it from the rooftops.
And despite what others, NPAS and politicians, will tell you UK Police air support has never operated in Silo's. The co-operation and communication between Air Support units has always been a lesson to other disciplines within the Police service on how to do it.. When something goes really right or really wrong in one unit, the others hear about it very quickly. Sometimes within minutes!
tigerfish