Cambridgeshire Police Helicopter
| Published: 16th May 2008 13:52 |
Ever wondered what it takes to get a police helicopter in the air? Or been curious about why it is hovering over your house? Chances are it is actually looking at something no where near you...
A LONG checklist of tasks awaits two air observers and a pilot each morning on their arrival at Cambridgeshire Constabulary's air operations unit.
Sergeant Gordon Murray, the unit's deputy executive officer explains: "At the start of every shift a mechanical check and inspection begins then two people move the aircraft from its hanger.
"There is a checklist of tasks which have to be fulfilled in order for the aircraft to fly safely.
"The air observers are all police officers who are trained to navigate the aircraft. Together with the pilot, the checklist is completed."
The checklist includes inspecting the fuel tank to ensure the helicopter can re-fuel as quickly as possible, a "power check" on computers, capacity and power in the engines, the engines are washed and technical information, tasks and weather readings are uploaded into the aircraft's computer.
Sgt Murray continued: "Weather readings are taken from a number of sources which include the Met Office, Stansted airport and our own weather station.
"A series of necessary calculations are then completed on the weight of the crew, weight of fuel and any additional passengers which may affect the aircraft's capabilities, including Doctors from MAGPAS.
"After a few more legal checks the aircraft is ready to fly. This whole process usually takes just 30 minutes.
"Active incidents in Cambridgeshire are monitored by an officer at the unit. If a 999 call comes in that we can help with, we will often be out the door before we get the official call through. Those few minutes can make all the difference.
"But of course the aircraft does much more than answer calls for service - we perform tasks for other units. This is where we try to do 'smart' flying. If we go to a 999 incident, on the way back we'll look at other tasks we've been given for that area and get those done at the same time. It reduces costs."
The unit is based at RAF Wyton and the aircraft flies between 130 and 140mph.
Last year (April 2007 to March 2008) the helicopter lifted off 1,136 times, attended 1,914 incidents and aided the arrest of 194 people. It helped find 15 missing people and recovered £381,430 in stolen goods.
"The aircraft is a working platform and around 75 per cent of the time it is taking part in searches," explained Sgt Murray.
"These can be for suspects, missing people, vehicles, intelligence gathering and security.
"We're here for pursuits, to offer support to officers on the ground and to help in firearms operations.
"If you see us in the air, we may not be answering a 999 call. We do preparation work for police operations and contingency plans too.
"By that I mean we can take aerial photographs of, say, the Duxford area for air shows. The pictures will be used by commanding officers to deal with an emergency incident, should one happen.
"We also photograph flood plains to help with planning for flooding incidents. We can carry out covert and overt surveillance and our footage can be beamed directly to our major operations room so officers on the ground can see what's happening at a scene.
"By far the bread and butter of the aircraft is it's camera, housing 3 cameras in one. It can pick up small details such as number plates from some miles off.
"We often don't need to fly over the scene of an incident - we can watch it from a distance.
"By using the helicopter, risks to officers can be reduced. We can carry out a roof top search, rather than an officer on foot climbing onto a roof and we can search railway lines and water courses more easily than an officer on foot.
"At times we have taken a firefighter up and used our infrared camera over a fire. It shows the firefighter where the heat source is so their colleagues on the ground know where to target their efforts."
Technology has come a long way since the force's previous helicopter was in use. Then, officers had only maps at their disposal to guide the aircraft. Today's crew has a state-of-the-art sat nav device which communicates with the camera.
It means a postcode or street name can be put into the sat nav, and the camera will zoom to that location. Equally, the camera may be looking at a street and the sat nav will know the postcode and house number so officers on the ground can be guided in quicker, in our fight against crime and disorder.
Sergeant Murray said another core piece of equipment is the nitesun - a 30 million candle power torch: "It can be used to pinpoint a vehicle, or wider to cover a football pitch at night," he said.
Another device at their disposal is the sky shout - a public address system. "The sky shout can be used to relay messages to people on the ground," explained Sgt Murray.
"We rarely use it but there was an incident where a young boy went missing from his Fenland home.
"His mum went out across fields to look for him. In the mean time the boy returned so we used the sky shout to tell his mum he was safe and at home."
At the end of a shift more checks and administrative tasks are carried out.
Sgt Murray said: "In the evening a fuel examination is conducted. A sample of fuel will be taken from the tank and locked away.
"If the worst should happen and the helicopter crashes, that fuel sample will be investigated by Air Accident Investigators."
Regardless of all the state-of-the-art technology, some jobs just have to be done the old-fashioned way.
"Once a week the helicopter gets a bath," said Sgt Murray. "This is probably the least technical part of the unit - it involves ladders, sponges, hoses and brushes."
