As Mandy Rice one famously said during the Profumo Affair.....
Well he would say that wouldn't he.
Quite a few non pilot posters on here with vested interests.
However the bean counters and accountants see the true picture of around only
25% of all police air ops being justified as cost effective.
The modern UK police force now fast tracks graduate entrants to Inspector in three years so avoiding the old plod to Sweeney model.
With police budgets being cut to the bone there has to be better ways to spend the budget.
Does anyone ever do a debrief on wasted operations?
Tigerfish....I am old enough to remember Julian Verity starting the South Wales police ops from Cardiff Wales airport and building the hangar at Tremorfa while at the same time my aircraft was serviced by Robertson's at Lulsgate in the days of G-OLLY.
As for your ridiculous remark regarding the relationship between muggings and air ops I assume you have never seen a street assault. All over in seconds and culprits long gone before plod arrives.
The best way of fighting street crime is the town and city camera network not a big expensive toy.