"We dont bother asking for the helicopter any more, by the time it gets here it's always too late"
To be pedantic, who says it's too late? Is that the cop on the ground who can't be bothered to wait until an aircraft arrives or because the are getting pressured because there are too few resources on the ground (CSR anyone?)
Comments like that are anecdotal at best and at worst plain untrue, if its too late after ten minutes it was probably to late after ten seconds, most 'offenders gone to ground' calls need to be swamped by the ground units and well contained or by the time an aircraft does arrive it will be too late, whenever that aircraft arrives.
Who here has turned up to do a search to find chummy hiding behind a wall listening to everything the cops union meeting is discussing feet away.
