secret of success in Police Air Operations is the ability to get overhead quickly, and before the culprit has left the scene. That ability is seriously challenged by any delay in getting airborne
. . . and also by being based, or on another task, 30+nm from the incident in question!
The promise that CCs will have greater availability of an aircraft, as there won't be any loss of operation while their normal machine is being serviced, completely ignores the fact that, although there might be one available, it's very likely that it'll be too far away to have any chance of success. Of course this won't bother the bean-counters and backside-covering control rooms, who will be able to say they "
deployed every available resource" !!
