Police flights row

Apr 1 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

PLANS to axe one North East police helicopter could leave parts of rural Northumberland short of cover.

Police bosses in Northumbria and Durham last night confirmed their decision to halve their helicopter cover of the region.

The decision has infuriated their counterparts on Teesside, as Cleveland force jointly funds the North East Air Support Unit.

Cleveland Police Authority chairman Dave McLuckie last night said he would “fight tooth and nail” against removal of the one remaining helicopter from Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington. If he succeeds, this would mean any call-outs to north Northumberland – some 100 miles from Durham Tees Valley – would take up to half an hour, twice the time it would take a helicopter to fly from Newcastle.

Coun McLuckie pointed out that the helicopter at Newcastle does not have an autopilot system and under new Civil Aviation Authority regulations will within two years no longer be allowed to fly at night. “If I was to be sceptical, I would consider that Northumbria only agreed a joint funding agreement because they knew the shelf life of the Newcastle-based helicopter was limited,” he said.

“But they have broken the agreement, so we will fight tooth and nail any moves to transfer the helicopter based at Durham Tees Valley to Newcastle.

“A helicopter called out from Newcastle could take half an hour to get to south Cleveland, to places like Loftus and Brotton, by which time it would be too late in the vast majority of incidents.” A helicopter based at Durham Tees Valley would take a similar time to reach north Northumberland.

Berwick borough councillor Geoff O’Connell, of Belford, said: “The police helicopter has proved an invaluable tool, not only in catching criminals but in crime prevention work, and it should not be lost. I would be extremely concerned if the nearest one to us was based at Durham Tees Valley.”

Northumbria Police Authority chairman Coun Mick Henry said the authority backed plans to reduce the unit to one helicopter.

“The nature of crime has changed in recent years and there has been a decline in vehicle related crime. Developments in policing techniques mean that there are now many different, more efficient and effective ways for officers on the ground to deal with incidents such as car pursuits, where a helicopter would traditionally have been used.

“This decision to use just one helicopter in future has been made in the best interests of local people’s safety after careful consideration of how best public funds can support policing this region, using all of the tools available.

“However, we will continue to work with the consortium’s partners to plan new arrangements for 2009 to 10 and beyond.”

The helicopters, costing £3.47m a year, fly fewer than seven hours a day between them.

Assistant chief constable Michael Banks said County Durham crime had fallen 23% in a decade and car crime by two-thirds.