Simply because they will be aviation experts, not bobbies playing at businessmen/politicians.
There are lots and lots of bobbies who ARE (police)aviation experts...!
Unfortunately where NPAS failed was that they didnt take on any of these people on nor did they listen to those who were able to advise upon such matters.
Pilots are not managers nor do they have the public responsibility and accountability that is needed to run POLICE aviation. Yes aviation input is required when necessary. However the tail should not wag the dog.
So to those out there saying this is the fault of Police Officers playing at aviation.... wind your neck in.
Police Officers were succesfully (in the main) running the units well before NPAS came along and knocked it all down. Your criticism needs to be directed towards Senior Officers within Policing who decided to tear apart what was a very effective service, and who have at best been hoodwinked by major industry players, or at worst been offered nice jobs post-retirement should certain contracts be signed. I hope it is not the latter.
The Police Officers in the individual units were the very people who built the service into what we are all lamenting now...! It is they (and the Pilots working with them), who had the expertise and the knowledge of what worked and what didnt. Sadly none of that mattered in the end.
NPAS has shown itself to be as inept, short sighted, and badly run as everyone on the inside said it was going to be, and the rewards for that ineptitude are now about to be realised.
NPAS did not
HAVE to happen.
Those units who were slacking through lack of will or lack of demand, and only flying 600 hours a year or so, needed to either pull their socks up or close. The remaining units should have worked together better, stopped paying through the nose for engineering with PAS/Mac and followed the lead of others and set up or shared engineering with those doing it at a fraction of the cost. Regionalising the units would have achieved better results with far fewer losses of airframes/units.
My flying career ended with NPAS.
To the observers about to join me back on the streets... you have my commiserations. As you are about to experience how poor things have truly become, and you will realise how rare it is nowadays to have an a/c actually on a job with you.
Likewise to the Pilots out there, past and present who I have worked with, may I thank you for my ten years of safe flying. I never once felt that you were anything less than excellent at what you do... I wish you lots of luck in your future endeavours.
(well there was that one time.... anyway not important)
