Tuesday, January 01, 2013

West Midlands Police helicopter helps arrest 500 people in 2012: Chopper called upon in more than 3,500 incidents

 
West Midlands Police helicopter



West Midlands Police’s “eye in the sky” helped arrest more than 500 people in 2012.

The force’s helicopter took off 1,362 times and was involved in 3,698 incidents.

Using a vast array of technology, the aircraft assisted police on the ground on a daily basis by helping them track suspects or searching for missing people.

Throughout the year it spent 1,175 hours in the sky and was responsible for finding 27 people who had been reported missing.

The helicopter also acts as casualty transport in life or death situations when the air ambulance cannot work at night.

And it does this on a part-time basis as it is only financed to fly for 1,400 hours a year, which equates to around just four hours a day.

The helicopter – which has the call sign Alpha Oscar 1 – even has its own Twitter account ( @WMP_Helicopter )   to update residents about its activities. 

Story and Photo:   http://www.birminghammail.co.uk

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