:until now the Met's helicopters have operated independently of the National Police Air Service (NPAS), a centralised body coordinated from West Yorkshire. But a recent, much-protested decision means they are to be folded into the national unit on 1 October. Since NPAS was launched in 2012, there have been complaints from police forces that it is inefficient and overstretched, that the taxpayer has ended up paying more for a less capable service. It would be fair to say that nobody at Lippitts Hill is happy about the news.
"Put it this way," says Xxxx. "There are 20 PCs here and six of us have applied to leave." Xxxx has signed up for the dog section.
The problem, he says, is that an overstretched air service quickly becomes underused: officers stop calling on them. If London's helicopters are obliged to respond across a wider area, the increased transit times will rule out the sort of quick response that allows them to make a difference. "At 2am," he says, "we're the only helicopter south of Birmingham."
Not strictly true, but when the hour is right rest easy Met chaps, the Birmingham cab will still get the Dartmoor jobs !!!
I'm waiting to see if the rumours are true about where those 145's are going to end up
