Police and Crime Commissioner's Culdrose base police helicopter plan (From This is The West Country)
Police and Crime Commissioner's Culdrose base police helicopter plan
Police helicopter back up could soon be flying from Helston in a bid to improve response times.
The idea is to create a link between the National Police Air Service and the town’s naval base of RNAS Culdrose.
The region’s first Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg, whose election was announced in the early hours of Saturday, has called for search and rescue helicopters from RNAS Culdrose to provide back up to the police helicopter.
Mr Hogg, who is former commanding officer of Culdrose and an ex search and rescue pilot, said the new National Police Air Service (NPAS) that launched last month had pledged a response time of 20 minutes for 98 per cent of the population.
However, in Devon and Cornwall the nearest helicopter would be based at Exeter airport – meaning approximately two thirds of Cornwall fell outside the 20-minute target and the Isles of Scilly would be roughly 50 minutes away.
This in itself assumed that the police helicopter at Exeter would be available.
In a open letter to the operations director of the Police Air Authority, Ollie Dismore, Mr Hogg wrote: “The rural nature of parts of Devon and Cornwall can make a rapid helicopter response all the more important.
“Notwithstanding the faster flying speeds of the police helicopter, I would like to propose a formal agreement between NPAS and RNAS Culdrose, for Culdrose to augment and back up rapid response policing cover where needed, in addition to their well publicised search and rescue tasking from the maritime rescue co-ordination centres.
“I know from my naval experience that Culdrose have already been involved in support of the police on isolated occasions.”
He said that if this link up took place, Devon and Cornwall could then “truthfully say” that 98 per cent of its population was supported by a rapid response helicopter rescue and policing service.
“Where minutes can be crucial, I urge you to consider this proposal,” he added in his letter.
The NPAS was launched on October 1 and is due to be implemented between now and January 2015. It is expected to arrive in Devon and Cornwall in July next year.
Introduced with the promise of saving up to £15 million a year, compared to previous arrangements, the idea is to ultimately provide a “national, borderless service” that makes use of the nearest aircraft – with 25 helicopters placed in 23 locations in England and Wales.
Right then, come the next set of PCC elections I would like to see some ex-Apache/Hereford/Odiham pilots and some door gunners' names on the voting slips, get voted into a post or 41 and come up with similar soundbites such as;
"The military have already been involved in support of the police on isolated occasions.”
After all, we will be out of Afghanistan by then
