UK Police helicopter budget cuts
Wiltshire's future
You have probably already noticed this, but for the sake of completeness in this thread....
The Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal should become an independent charity during September after the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) agreed to give up its sole trusteeship of the appeal.
A new charity, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, will be set up with a new bank account for the acceptance of donations. The new charity will have to increase fundraising from the current level of £750,000 a year to £2M to cover the expected cost of a stand-alone air ambulance helicopter from 2015.
The £1.2M reserves in the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal will be frozen and set aside for GWAS to use to pay the ambulance service's part of the contract with Wiltshire Police for the joint helicopter/air ambulance through to December 2014.
The Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal should become an independent charity during September after the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) agreed to give up its sole trusteeship of the appeal.
A new charity, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, will be set up with a new bank account for the acceptance of donations. The new charity will have to increase fundraising from the current level of £750,000 a year to £2M to cover the expected cost of a stand-alone air ambulance helicopter from 2015.
The £1.2M reserves in the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal will be frozen and set aside for GWAS to use to pay the ambulance service's part of the contract with Wiltshire Police for the joint helicopter/air ambulance through to December 2014.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Interesting breaking news !
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Nice one whitehead06 
A lot of descision makers need to re-think what they may be leading us into.
Did I say leading? Perhaps it should be led!
Thin Blue Line
BBC confirm Police station in Brum under attack and on fire now.
Anyway, good job Cobra are waiting til the morning to meet up over coffee and Danishes.
Maybe they will decide not to prosecute officers if they simply push someone over in future !
A lot of descision makers need to re-think what they may be leading us into.
Did I say leading? Perhaps it should be led!
Thin Blue Line
BBC confirm Police station in Brum under attack and on fire now.
Anyway, good job Cobra are waiting til the morning to meet up over coffee and Danishes.
Maybe they will decide not to prosecute officers if they simply push someone over in future !
Last edited by SilsoeSid; 8th Aug 2011 at 23:57.
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So the Met call in additional Air Support from Surrey & Sussex,
presumably because the 3 aircraft they have are either not all available,
or the demand exceeds the capacity they can provide,
but what then happens to the Air Support in Surrey & Sussex ?
We've seen last night how this latest excuse for rioting and looting has spread across the Country
to Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol,
and while the Met & Birmingham have 24 Hr Air Support cover, what about the rest ?
It's not just Air Support though - the TV footage showed Police Officers from at least one other Police Force
helping West Midlands Police on the streets of Handsworth, which is a standard "Mutual Aid" practice these days -
when such demands on Policing appear at short notice, but what would have happened in the other force area,
where resources are now even more depleted due to supplying Mutual Aid to Birmingham,
and who don't have their own 24 hrs Air Support Unit - if it had kicked off in their force area too ?
Maybe it's time for the Big Boys to have a rethink on Police Budget cuts until they are CERTAIN
that the limited resources left can cope with the demands of today's criminal society
presumably because the 3 aircraft they have are either not all available,
or the demand exceeds the capacity they can provide,
but what then happens to the Air Support in Surrey & Sussex ?
We've seen last night how this latest excuse for rioting and looting has spread across the Country
to Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol,
and while the Met & Birmingham have 24 Hr Air Support cover, what about the rest ?
It's not just Air Support though - the TV footage showed Police Officers from at least one other Police Force
helping West Midlands Police on the streets of Handsworth, which is a standard "Mutual Aid" practice these days -
when such demands on Policing appear at short notice, but what would have happened in the other force area,
where resources are now even more depleted due to supplying Mutual Aid to Birmingham,
and who don't have their own 24 hrs Air Support Unit - if it had kicked off in their force area too ?
Maybe it's time for the Big Boys to have a rethink on Police Budget cuts until they are CERTAIN
that the limited resources left can cope with the demands of today's criminal society
Last edited by Coconutty; 9th Aug 2011 at 10:00. Reason: To add : The Thin Blue Line is now just a series of dashes - - - - - - -
Woke at 6am this morning to a towering column of smoke from the burning SONY warehouse by the M25. I knew it was there because just before midnight my family thoughtfully told me (just as I was on the verge of sleep.....!) There it was etched against the clear night sky with signs of a red glow in the billowing column.
Here we are more than 10 hours later and the column of jet black smoke is still rising. I guess they will get there and stop it before tea time...... It is amazing how much soot a pile of plastic gizmo's can pollute the air with. SONY goods will be gold dust for a while, though there may be some on the 'alternative' market........
So this is where soft policing, soft education/government etc etc and too much paperwork has got us.
And those who predicted trouble after the Tottenham shooting were put down as scaremongering, just as the Government - ably assisted by the NPAS team - have dismissed the potential threat to public order from permanently removing helicopters from the resources. Now is a time when even those retired EC135T1's might just fill a gap [in daylight] a cheap resource like the Green Goddess fire engines that no-one wanted and would ever need.
Now is a time for street policing not the 'war games' of the leaders with a BA [Hons] in Egyptology.
The biggest UK police force ran out of helicopters yesterday and had to call in others, next year there will be no 'others' to call in.
The world must be laughing.
Here we are more than 10 hours later and the column of jet black smoke is still rising. I guess they will get there and stop it before tea time...... It is amazing how much soot a pile of plastic gizmo's can pollute the air with. SONY goods will be gold dust for a while, though there may be some on the 'alternative' market........
So this is where soft policing, soft education/government etc etc and too much paperwork has got us.
And those who predicted trouble after the Tottenham shooting were put down as scaremongering, just as the Government - ably assisted by the NPAS team - have dismissed the potential threat to public order from permanently removing helicopters from the resources. Now is a time when even those retired EC135T1's might just fill a gap [in daylight] a cheap resource like the Green Goddess fire engines that no-one wanted and would ever need.
Now is a time for street policing not the 'war games' of the leaders with a BA [Hons] in Egyptology.
The biggest UK police force ran out of helicopters yesterday and had to call in others, next year there will be no 'others' to call in.
The world must be laughing.
Chief Bottle Washer
From today's Telegraph:
09.39 James Clark, the former Ministry of Defence head of press, tweets that the RAF may be drafted in to support police operations
I understand the Met is exploring the poss of having military 'copters from RAF Benson on standby to support their 3 observation aircraft
less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply
James Clark
MotoClark
less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply
James Clark
MotoClark
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The SAR birds have all the kit fitted and there are some 'other' Military birds that have all the relevant kit
Heres to another fun night. All the best to the other guys and gals working tonight, on the ground and above it.
Heres to another fun night. All the best to the other guys and gals working tonight, on the ground and above it.
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Isn't the Merseyside 135T2 sitting in the hangar ready to fly??????????
That would be great, XM11 back in the air.........
That would be great, XM11 back in the air.........
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Being able to talk/listen on one talkgroup (within the limited number available on a single mobile handset in a cradle) is NOT the same as the normal police fit. To play the full police role you need the full kit, focussed on the area you are operating over.
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Silsoe posted the BBC chopper link to the riots but Sky also have brought live pictures of unfolding events.
Just like 9/11 it appears the news media are way ahead of what is happening.
I hope the Met helicopters have tracked some of these criminals.
It appears tweets and messaging have played a part in the terrible scenes we have seen unfolding.
Maybe time to get some more up to date tracking kit on board police helicopters.
Have any of the little used choppers in the rural areas been drafted in?
Just like 9/11 it appears the news media are way ahead of what is happening.
I hope the Met helicopters have tracked some of these criminals.
It appears tweets and messaging have played a part in the terrible scenes we have seen unfolding.
Maybe time to get some more up to date tracking kit on board police helicopters.
Have any of the little used choppers in the rural areas been drafted in?
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Have any of the little used choppers in the rural areas been drafted in?
In view of the earlier comment about compatibility.....
To play the full police role you need the full kit, focussed on the area you are operating over.
Does that mean the NPAS craft will all have to be tweaked to a common standard to be truly National or is it simply the flick of a switch for the role equipped airframes to comply with local needs?
I am aware there is a problem with the downlink [ECS or not ECS].
To play the full police role you need the full kit, focussed on the area you are operating over.
Does that mean the NPAS craft will all have to be tweaked to a common standard to be truly National or is it simply the flick of a switch for the role equipped airframes to comply with local needs?
I am aware there is a problem with the downlink [ECS or not ECS].
"I am aware there is a problem with the downlink [ECS or not ECS]".
What about the "those who have not gone digital because they didn't want to spend the money on it and now can't receive any pictures from any of the regional mutual support aircraft" issue?
What about the "those who have not gone digital because they didn't want to spend the money on it and now can't receive any pictures from any of the regional mutual support aircraft" issue?
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I was just pointing out gently that police helicopters have 4 separate Airwave radios, and that in complicated places like London you need all 4 to maintain comms in a command/control type job (plus the ATC comms). Unless it has changed, most of the mil helicopters have only one airwave radio.
The other issue is that Airwave is not like a "normal" radio. It can only communicate on the talk groups that it is "filled with". There is a distinctly finite limit to the number of talk groups that any one airwave set can be filled with.
Those who have already been engaging in cross border operations know there are limitations to the kit wrt comms and mapping. It is mainly the storage capacity of the fitted equipment. This is before you take any account of such soft but important things like crew knowledge.
The other issue is that Airwave is not like a "normal" radio. It can only communicate on the talk groups that it is "filled with". There is a distinctly finite limit to the number of talk groups that any one airwave set can be filled with.
Those who have already been engaging in cross border operations know there are limitations to the kit wrt comms and mapping. It is mainly the storage capacity of the fitted equipment. This is before you take any account of such soft but important things like crew knowledge.
Chief Bottle Washer
Sid, have you been using The Force again 
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
I heard my local shopping centre was going to be attacked, so went out to show that decent people (I have my moments 
) are against the actions of these scum.
Unfortunately I recently e-bayed my Batman outfit, but managed to find in the attic an old Darth Vader kit. Just glad it still fitted.
Fortunately nothing cracked off, however as my Vader kit was confiscated, if something happens tonight all I have left is an old Pink Panther suit
Do you reckon it will work? !!!!
The crooks never sleep and neither does Clouseau!
) are against the actions of these scum.Unfortunately I recently e-bayed my Batman outfit, but managed to find in the attic an old Darth Vader kit. Just glad it still fitted.
Fortunately nothing cracked off, however as my Vader kit was confiscated, if something happens tonight all I have left is an old Pink Panther suit
Do you reckon it will work? !!!!
The crooks never sleep and neither does Clouseau!
Last edited by SilsoeSid; 10th Aug 2011 at 19:16.