Tayside Joint Police Board

. Agenda Item No. TAYSIDE JOINT POLICE BOARD 23 August 1999 Report by the Chief Constable No. PB 37/1999 SUBJECT: AIR SUPPORT Abstract: This report outlines the benefits offered by Air Support operations and the unique role they are able undertake to enhance traditional policing, rapidly and over a large geographical area. The report seeks the Boards approval to assess the means by which such coverage could be obtained on a permanent basis. 1. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Board:- i) note the terms of this report and the benefits accrued to date from the use of Air Support to enhance the traditional policing functions, and ii) support the pursuance of Air Support coverage for the Tayside Police area and the development of an associated business case. 2. BACKGROUND 2.1 Reference is made to Paragraph 4 Minute of Meeting of Tayside Joint Police Board of 24 August 1998 wherein the Board agreed to make representation to the Scottish Office for the Tayside Police area to have access to air support on the same basis as elsewhere. 2.2 Air Support has increasingly become accepted by the police service as being unique in its ability to enhance daily policing operations, rapidly and over a large geographical area. A briefing paper on the benefits of Air Support is attached at Appendix „A‟. 2.3 The operations of Air Support Units elsewhere have, over the past 13 years, repeatedly confirmed the value of such a facility to the police service. A significant number of those forces however benefited from provision by the Home Office of supplementary or „Pump Priming‟ finances, thought necessary to ease the initial establishment of an Air Support Unit. 2.4 The requirement to efficiently police the two major events over the summer period, T in the Park and the Open Golf Championship, necessitated the use of Air Support and has also allowed a unique opportunity to assess the benefits of providing Air Support locally whilst offsetting the associated costs. Document in F:\Committee Services\Police Board\Report Index\TJPB Report Index 1999.rtf 3. SUMMARY 3.1 Tayside Police has operated an Air Support Unit to augment traditional policing in the six week period up to and including 13th August, 1999. During this period it has contributed positively to the policing of major events; attended reports of crime in progress; assisted in vehicle pursuits; searched for vulnerable missing persons; evacuated critically injured casualties from vehicles crashes and participated in crime prevention in the Force area. The weekly reports are attached at appendices B, C, D and E. 3.2 The operational benefits of Air Support are well recognised and a Briefing Paper is issued with this report. It is clear to the Force that such a facility extends our enhancement of benefits in policing terms, providing the same quality of policing as is enjoyed widely elsewhere. In addition by utilising the latest generation of aircraft all parts of the Tayside area could be served by such a facility within a maximum of 12 minutes. 3.3 Air Support brings with it the same ability to achieve objectives within existing resource allocations for up to 10 hours per day and it also provides a facility to undertake critical functions in protecting life and property without the potential risks in attending by conventional means. The requirements of Health and Safety now apply to police functions and it is important to recognise that some measure of policing is to deal with incidents inside these constraints. In particular the guidance provided in relation to vehicle pursuits offers three combined aspects:- (a) Stinger Equipment (b) TPACS (a tactic using 4/5 patrol cars to box in a vehicle being pursued) (c) Air Support to undertake the pursuit and direct ground based officers to follow at a distance without the potential for police vehicle collisions. Tayside Police utilises stinger equipment but has not the capacity to undertake TPACS across the Force area. Anecdotal evidence from the six week facility, has already indicated that Air Support coverage leads to cessation of pursuits and a marked reduction in car theft. The operational base for air support would logically be an existing airport but this requires careful consideration to balance a number of issues. Helicopters used by the Police overfly populated urban areas and require a twin engine for safety. This produces a distinctive sound which is clearly evident to those below. The idea of utilising an existing airport at first consideration seems the obvious choice. However, this does raise issues for those resident in the area. When the type of aircraft available at the lower end of the market is utilised, and the access to Accident and Emergency facilities will dictate some operational overflying at all times of the day and night. It is however an issue that can be effectively addressed by consideration of the new generation of aircraft which whilst still producing distinctive sound patterns, are less disturbing to those in residential proximity to their activity. 3.3 A minimum level of coverage with the older aircraft can be achieved within existing resource allocations and the Board is invited to consider this as an initial means of securing such functions. It is anticipated that more extensive and less intrusive coverage could be achieved by joint arrangements with other agencies in the Tayside area and it is proposed that this be explored with a view to partnership in operating such a facility. The creation of a consortium to operate Air Support will also be considered within the business case. 4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 4.1 The financial implications are subject to tender although similar units operate for 10 hours daily at costs between £600,000 - £800,000 per annum. A number of options exist with regard to financing the provision of Air Support. These include outright purchase of an aircraft using traditional capital arrangements, leasing of the aircraft, a more encompassing “wet lease” arrangement or through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Each of these will have varying financial consequences and will impact on how Air Support is provided and funded within the Force. It is proposed to prepare a business plan for submission to the Board which will detail proposals for achieving such a level of coverage within the current level of resources. 4.2 It is anticipated a feature of any such business plan would be an evaluation of the options to defray the overall costs of providing Air Support in the Tayside area by exploring opportunities to enter into joint arrangements with other agencies and also to examine sponsorship possibilities. 4.3 If such a partnership approach were successful it may be possible to augment the level of coverage provided by Air Support without impacting on the costs to be met by the Force. 5. CONSULTATION 5.1 The Clerk and the Treasurer have been consulted in the preparation of this report 6. CONCLUSION 6.1 Access to Air Support greatly assisted the Force in meeting its responsibilities to police the area of Tayside efficiently during a period of heavy operational demand. Two major events, T in the Park and the Open Golf Championship, were held in quick succession and successfully policed. In addition traditional police methods have been augmented to good effect during the six week trial period. It is proposed therefore to pursue the feasibility of providing Air Support within the Tayside area preferably by adopting a partnership approach and to produce a business case detailing the findings of this study. WILLIAM A SPENCE Chief Constable Police Headquarters 4 West Bell Street Dundee DD1 9JU 30 December 2010 pb37-99 NOTE: No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to any material extent in preparing the above Report. Appendix A Air Support Briefing Paper for the Tayside Joint Police Board. Introduction Police Aviation has existed now in one form or another for over 70 years. It was however the 1980s which saw a dramatic increase in the number of dedicated police air support units (ASU) established within Britain. The Metropolitan Police, Devon and Cornwall, Thames Valley and Sussex Constabularies were amongst the first to operate with the assistance of air support. In the past, forces have often relied upon the military to provide aircraft on an ad hoc basis but since the end of the Cold War the military has been forced to become more financially prudent. Tasks conducted for the police can no longer be provided under the auspices of training and generally support will only be provided if an immediate threat to life exists. The formation of police ASU has continued at a rapid pace. Of the 43 forces in England and Wales, 36 (84%) currently operate with the aid of air support. The remaining forces have ready access to air support should it be required. In Scotland, only Strathclyde operates with an ASU. Interestingly, there appears to be no obvious correlation between force size and the existence of an associated ASU, indeed some of the smallest forces have played a leading role in the development of air support i.e. Wiltshire and Dyfed Powys. Smaller forces in England and Wales operating ASUs that are not part of a consortium. Force Officer Strength Area (1000s Acres) Dyfed Powys 1014 2704 North Wales 1408 1554 Wiltshire1 1096 859 Note: Tayside 1105 1853 A number of studies into the potential benefits offered by air support were conducted during the 1980s, the most in depth entitled ‘The Police Use of Aviation’ was published in 1988 by a Joint Working Group prompted by the ACPO Research Requirement Group and Police Requirements Support Unit.

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