UK Police Air Support cuts

The UK Home Office has published a White Paper addressing plans to create efficiencies and reduce spending by police forces, including changes to Police Air Support Units. The report, published on 2 December 2009 by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, sets out a new programme of measures ‘to help the police work smarter to fight crime, tackle anti-social behaviour and boost public confidence’. The plans are intended to make the police ‘more accountable to the public’ and ‘deliver significant cost savings by working better in partnership, improving efficiency and standardising procurement’. Regarding police aviation, the White Paper states: “[The Association of Chief Police Officers] has conducted an extensive review of air support. The conclusion of the review is that a national approach is needed to fund and organise police aviation, in a more coherent way, to deliver greater operational effectiveness. National governance would mean that funding and management of police aviation assets would be undertaken nationally, while operations would be agreed locally with forces, under a regional construct.” Governance of police aviation would be centralised, with funding and management of police aviation assets being undertaken nationally, while operations would be agreed at a local level. The White Paper suggest such a national approach could lead to a fleer reduction from 33 aircraft to around 26, with a saving of around £23 million per year in running and capital costs. However, the document states that the changes will bring ‘better overall air support coverage in England and Wales’. It continues: “We expect rapid progress to be made over the next 18 months to take forward the review and to establish a nationally managed air support service. The Home Office will part fund an [Association of Chief Police Officers] and [National Policing Improvement Agency] project team to develop the national management structure.” Read the White Paper in full at http://tinyurl.com/waypoint-wp The full text from the Case Study: Collaboration on Police Air Operations taken from the White Paper follows: England and Wales currently has 28 Police Air Support Units, operating 33 aircraft. These cost in the region of £45 million per year to run and about £12.5m per year in capital costs for new aircraft. The Home Office pays 40% of capital costs; Police Authorities have to find the rest of the capital costs and all the running costs. Local and regional delivery of air support varies across the country with a range of performance indicators, operating hours, system capabilities and supply arrangements in use, resulting in a fragmented approach to equipment procurement and management of assets. ACPO has conducted an extensive review of air support. The conclusion of the review is that a national approach is needed to fund and organise police aviation, in a more coherent way, to deliver greater operational effectiveness. National governance would mean that funding and management of police aviation assets would be undertaken nationally, while operations would be agreed locally with forces, under a regional construct. It is estimated that this approach would enable the size of the active aircraft fleet to be reduced from 33 aircraft to around 26, saving nearly £18m per year in running costs and over £5m per year in capital costs and at the same time provide better overall air support coverage in England and Wales. We expect rapid progress to be made over the next 18 months to take forward the review and to establish a nationally managed air support service. The Home Office will part fund an ACPO and NPIA project team to develop the national management structure.