Sky Cops (Rant!!)

[Shellywoozle]

There are 3 levels of criminality and you usually find that even the ones that the ones that flea across fields and need tracking from the air have some interesting motives.

For example the car thief, stealing a car why? Joy ride, or to go and commit further offences, ram raiding, cash in transit robberies, burglaries. Catch them at the early stages and all the follow on offences are stopped in their tracks. You don't know they are going to happen as they haven't cause you stopped them. So maybe it was your house that was next on the list. Or like one local to me, a wealthy family been targetted whilst at home for their 2 cars, tied up and hurt.

Or a child gone missing, can't find them as the area is too big or it's too dark but the helicopter can assist.

Air Cops also have the functionality of transporting injured.

I say we need more of them and they do a great job! This is my experience from working with them, they don't come out unless an area is cordoned off on the ground and there is a chance of catching the scroat. Air time allowing and weather conditions too.

A heli is going to pay towards its self by acting as a deterrent. Maybe it'll cover its cost, maybe it won't. Quite frankly though, in the grand scheme of things the cost of running one is peanuts and shouldn't even warrant discussion.

In fact, relatively speaking this isn't wouldn't even be a large scale of waste, even if they were burning the £5mil + operating costs. There are far worse examples of waste out there, but because they're less emotive noone cares.

Originally Posted by Tiger 55

Well you've got your ducks in a row there mate and I am happy to stand corrected. Either I wasn't paying attention when I was a pilot for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance or things have changed, probably the former! The aircraft and crewing are identical to Sussex and I assumed (the mother of all f*ck up) that the finance was the same too. Wrong. Sorry.

Sorry, didn't mean to come out as a rant (had a crap day).

Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave

Sorry, didn't mean to come out as a rant (had a crap day).

No apology necessary mate, I am firmly back in my box.

£5m each? That's positively cheap. You only get a tenth of a painting for that

Watched that Sky Cops rubbish once and thought it was, well rubbish. They only showed IIRC Greater Manchester and one of the Yorkshire forces helicoptors in action, so based on this information alone (as a lot of people base their whole view of the police on - some poxy TV show) I reckon we should bin the 2 choppers on this show and use the cash for Jacqui Smith to honour her payrise agreements as she should. The cash could also be used to give us more officers on the ground so we aren't sticking our necks out undermanned on a daily/nightly basis for a bunch of largely winging, moaning and ungrateful public.

Bin choppers Whatever next?


ps.... as you can tell I've had a bad day too....sorry.

[yorkie_chris]

You can't really expect the public to be grateful while the lawmakers make a mockery of the risks the police take.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

You can't really expect the public to be grateful while the lawmakers make a mockery of the risks the police take.

+ 1, the old bill have rules and laws to follow and yet the crimals they face do not have any respect for those same rules and laws .

[yorkie_chris]

Not just that, you have to treat the coppers with a lot of caution, a few of my mates have been nicked for legitimately defending themselves.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

a few of my mates have been nicked for legitimately defending themselves.

Legitimately defending themselves against attack by coppers? How does one get into that unfortunate situation old boy? I can't see Shellywoozle wading in with the pepper spray and boot for 'looking at me in a funny way.' Carlos maybe...