TC I agree with your post, with one exception.
The job comes with huge responsibility. Especially during a vehicle pursuit, when at times I can be advising as to whether the pursuit is safe to continue or not.
I can be working with firearms officers, or guiding a dog handler to likely hiding places. Frequently I formulate search parameters for missing people and advise senior officers on viability of searches.
I've done pretty much all of those jobs as a police officer on the ground before I went to ASU. My colleagues on the ground know this and (most if the time) trust my judgement.
You CAN teach someone to do the nuts and bolts of flying. But as stated by others it's a "police" a/c. It's the same reason we don't civilianise firearms officers or dog handlers. Neither of those posts "need" to physically arrest someone, thus don't need to hold warranted powers. (There's always officers in support that can do that).
It's more a question of who "should" be doing it..!
If a civi Observer calls a pursuit safe to continue, or advises officers on a manoeuvre (having never driven a police car in anger). And then it all goes horribly wrong and someone dies. What then..?
Sometimes the most economical route isn't appropriate, because it devalues the service we provide.
Policing isn't a business.