Third helicopter helping police air unit expand its reach
By Julie Chang, Austin American-Statesman | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
A third helicopter -- purchased for
Although police data have not shown a dramatic increase in arrests on which the nine-member air support unit has assisted since the addition of the helicopter, officials said that adding a pilot in the coming weeks will expand the number of hours the unit flies and potentially boost the number of arrests.
"If we're able to clear a big search in an open field in 30 minutes versus four or five hours, look at how many man-hours you are freeing up," the unit's Lt.
On average per fiscal year, the unit clocks about 800 flight hours and assists on 204 arrests, according to the department data. Last fiscal year, it responded to 1,208 calls.
With the addition of the third helicopter in October and longer flight shifts in the works, the unit plans to respond to more calls in coming months, officials say. The unit assists on pursuits, finds missing persons and hit-and-run drivers, and patrols major highways in the city.
The unit added the helicopter in spite of a 2008 audit that determined that the air unit drained too much money from the city. The review by
Police say the auditors got it wrong and that they accounted for only 296 flight hours. Rothert said they neglected to add hours that were flown and they took into account personnel costs of a unit larger than the air support unit. They say the actual cost is
The unit's budget for this fiscal year is close to
Officials say the new helicopter can assist in more than traditional policing, including rescues and wildfire mitigation that result in lives saved.
It has state-of-the-art equipment, including a 17-inch monitor and an improved infrared thermal camera. The camera detects variations in heat and uses the information to build an image of what is happening on the ground. That image is displayed on the screen, and satellite maps can be overlaid on it. That same camera allowed police to nab three serial burglars as they were trying to break into a business on
"The addition of a helicopter was a minor expense for a city the size of
Rothert said that they've been wanting a new helicopter since 2001, when they were able to purchase their first one, but the city didn't have enough money to pay for two more helicopters.
Between October and March, the unit assisted on 145 arrests -- a little more than monthly averages. The unit flies about 2 1/2 hours per day, which includes patrolling of
The number of flight hours could grow as the unit trains on responding to wildfires. This month, the unit will add a pilot and start its shift three hours earlier, Rothert said. The unit operates on a 12-hour shift, but it is on call the rest of the time.
The arrest of a burglary suspect on
After officers searched for her for 40 minutes, the air unit was called, and technical flight officer Wuthipong Tantaksinanukij and pilot
When they arrived, police on the ground had already set up a perimeter several city blocks wide to contain the suspect. The technical flight officer uses a regular or thermal camera to find the suspect, and any information from above is radioed to ground officers.
Tantaksinanukij was the one who spotted Garcia, who was wearing a bright yellow shirt, from hundreds of feet above.
"The call was updated that the female took off her jacket and was wearing a yellow shirt," Tantaksinanukij said. "We were looking for anything like that. As we orbited, I caught yellow out of the corner of my eye ... and then that's when I called officers."
As of Friday, she was in the
One of the factors in the push for creating the unit in 2001 was the death of
"The goal is to keep growing and provide more coverage," Dranguet said. "We've proven ourselves as a valuable asset."
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Fiscal year;Flight hours;Arrest assists
2008;845;168
2009;755;1282010;833;220
2011;795;162
2012;727;269
2013;845;278
Source:
Watchdog coverage
This story reflects the
Breakdown of air support unit's fiscal 2014 budget
Personnel cost:
Maintenance of aircraft and equipment:
Gas, oil and grease:
Hangar rental:
Liability insurance:
Police supplies and services:
Total:
Source:
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