Police aviation
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events and/or public order incidents. They may employ rotary-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, nonrigid-wing aircraft or lighter-than-air aircraft. In some major cities, police rotary-wing aircraft are also used as air transportation for personnel belonging to SWAT-style units. In large, sparsely populated areas, fixed-wing aircraft are sometimes used to transport personnel and equipment.
History
The first police aviation department was established in New York City.[1] Fixed-wing aircraft have generally been replaced by more versatile rotary-wing aircraft since the late 1940s. However, fixed-wing aircraft are still used in some missions, such as border patrol, as their higher speed and greater operating altitude allow larger areas to be covered.[1]
In 1921, the British
A large mural on the side of St. George's Town Hall in the East End of London depicting the 1936 Battle of Cable Street public order incident includes the police autogyro,[3] that was present during the incident, overhead.[4][5]
Rotary-wing aircraft
The most common form of police rotary-wing aircraft is the helicopter, but other types of rotary-wing aircraft such as autogyros are also used.[6][7][8] The Groen Hawk 4 autogyro was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.[9]
Police rotary-wing aircraft are sometimes equipped to perform multiple functions, or are designed so that equipment can be changed quickly when required for divergent roles. For example, a rotary-wing aircraft could be used for search-and-rescue, and then as an
Police forces sometimes use military surplus rotary-wing aircraft, such as the
The use of police helicopters by the Los Angeles Police Department has been criticized for causing excessive noise and pollution and harming the well-being of community members.[15]
Fixed-wing and nonrigid-wing aircraft
Some police air units also use fixed-wing aircraft, which allow higher and quieter surveillance,
The
Lighter-than-air aircraft
Police
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Police in some areas have started using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, for surveillance operations.[34][35] Unmanned aerial vehicles come in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing types.
List of police aviation units
- Surf Life Saving Queensland Aviation)
- Western Australia Police Air Wing[37]
- New South Wales Police Force
- Victoria Police Air Wing
- Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania
- South Australia Police
- Air Police (Austria)[38]
- Hong Kong Government Flying Service[40]
- Macedonian police helicopter unit
- National Police Air Service
- Police Scotland Air Support Unit [citation needed]
- Police Service of Northern Ireland Air Support Unit
United States
Many local, state, and federal US law enforcement agencies operate helicopters, and some operate fixed-wing aircraft.
- Federal agencies
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Denver Police Department helicopter[44][45]
- Florida
- Marion County Sheriff Aviation Unit - at least four helicopters[46]
- Maryland
- Maryland State Police Aviation Command
- Baltimore County Police Department: 3 AS350B3 helicopters[47]
- Nevada
- New York
- NYPD Aviation Unit
- Nassau County Police Department Aviation
- Oregon
- Clackamas County Sheriff Air Support Unit - one Cessna 182[49]
- Portland Police Air Support Unit[50]
- Washington County (Oregon) Police Air Support Unit - a single Cessna R172, N575RW
- Oregon State Police Aviation Unit - four fixed-wing Cessnas[51]
South Dakota
- South Dakota Highway Patrol Aviation Unit - One Cessna T206[52]
- Utah
- Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau (helicopters)[53]
- Virginia
- Virginia State Police 3 airplanes, 7 helicopters[54]
- Fairfax County Police Department Helicopter Division (two helicopters)[55]
- Washington
- King County Sheriff's Office Air Support (three helicopters)[56][57]
- Pierce County Sheriff's Department Air Operations - two Cessna 206s[58]
- Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Air Support[59]
- Spokane County Sheriff's Office (three helicopters)[60]
- Washington State Patrol: Special Operations Division: Aviation Section[61]
- Wisconsin
- Wisconsin State Patrol Air Support Unit[62]
Disbanded police aviation units
- Nevada Highway Patrol Flight Operations
Border guards and customs services
- CBP Office of Air and Marine
Maritime law enforcement agencies
- Icelandic Coast Guard Aeronautical Division
See also
References
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- ^ Museum staff (October 4, 2011). "How the East was won". The working life of Museum of London. Museum of London. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
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- ^ "Con Air: America's High-Flying Paddy Wagon". Usmarshals.gov. 2004-06-03. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Paur, Jason (2011-09-08). "California Sheriff Adds Light Sport Airplane To Fleet - Autopia - Wired.com". Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ "Powered Parachute". Riponpd.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ "Paragliders Give Cops an Eye in the Sky". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
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- ^ "About the Hampshire Police Air Support Unit at Lee on Solent". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ "UK Emergency Aviation - UK & Ireland Police Helicopter Operations N-Z". Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ FBI brings out secret electronics weapons as Waco siege drags on, by James Adams. The Sunday Times, p. 23, 21 March 1993
- ^ Lewis, Jason; Blackmore, Andy (2011-10-29). "Met Police spends millions of pounds on secret aircraft". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Authorities are planning to employ a corporate blimp as an alternative intelligence gathering tool during next week's Republican National Convention in New York City". CNN. 2004-08-30. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ Lowry, N (June 2004), "Benign eye in the sky", Lloyd's List Magazine, pp. 29–33
- ^ Chamoff, L (April 17, 2009), "Greenwich Firm's Blimp to Keep Eye on Summit in Trinidad", Stamford Advocate / Greenwich Time
- ^ "GMP's £80,000 police spy blimp is grounded - by the Manchester weather". Manchester Evening News. 11 November 2010.
- ^ "New Police Drone Near Houston Could Carry Weapons". Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ Bennett, Brian (2011-12-10). "Police employ Predator drone spy planes on home front". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "POLAIR - News, videos and community information from the Queensland Police Service Polair unit". POLAIR. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ Police, Western Australia. "Police Air Wing". Western Australia Police. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
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- ^ "Office of Air Operations". www.chp.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
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- ^ Andrew Kenney (7 August 2018). "Denver police are trading their helicopter for a new $5 million chopper". Denverite. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Denver Police use helicopter to find illegal street races". KUSA.com. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "AVIATION UNIT — Marion County Sheriff's Office". Marion County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ rgilley (7 July 2022). "Specialized Units - Baltimore County". baltimorecountymd.gov. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Hot, High & Heavy". heliopsmag.com. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
The newest addition to the LVMPD aircraft fleet is an Airbus H145, making the department the first law enforcement agency in the continental US to operate the type
- ^ "Air Unit | Clackamas County". clackamas.us. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Air Support Unit". Retrieved 22 July 2022.
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- ^ "Highway Patrol Aircraft | SD DPS". dps.sd.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- ^ Ryan, MacKenzie (24 August 2020). "DPS helicopter flights up; budget falls flat". KUTV. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
Utah Highway Patrol's Aero Bureau
- ^ "Aviation Division - Virginia State Police". Virginia State Police. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Fairfax 1 | Police". www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
- ^ "16.060 - King County Sheriff's Office Air Support Unit - Police Manual | seattle.gov". seattle.gov. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
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- ^ "Air Operations | Pierce County, WA - Official Website". piercecountywa.gov. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ Phan, Suzanne; Reporter, KOMO News. "Snohomish Co Sheriff's K9 units, specialty units move to patrol because of staff shortages". KOMO. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Air Support Unit | Spokane County, WA". spokanecounty.org. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ admin. "Bureaus - WSP". WSP. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
The Special Operations Division is comprised of the Aviation Section and the Executive Services Section. The Division also oversees the Awards Committee.
- ^ "Wisconsin State Patrol Air Support Unit". wsp.wi.gov. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron is Sea-Going Drug Smuggler's Worst Nightmare". spacecoastdaily.com. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
External links
- Atlanta’s bombing fallout (Law Enforcement News)
- Aviation Units in Large Law Enforcement Agencies Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Blimp to provide convention coverage for police (CNN)
- Defender BN2T-4S operated by Irish Air Corps for Gardai (Irish police force)
- Police Aviation News
- UK Police Air Support Information & Operational Info + Gallery