SASKATOON – Saskatoon police officials say its air support unit plane had its most successful year fighting crime. Its 2014 annual report is on the agenda for city’s board of police commissioners meeting Thursday.
The air support unit (ASU), which is entering its ninth year of service, is credited with helping officers in cases of kidnapping, drug trafficking, stolen vehicles and impaired driving. Officials say it has helped reduce crime rate in the city by at least 10 per cent.
Unit members maintain radio contact with both officers on the ground and RCMP as they observe action from above and update ground units with directions and locations.
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In 2014, the ASU responded to 1,269 calls; nearly one-third of them led to an arrest. The report says 74 suspects would have certainly escaped without aircraft assistance and 46 provincial charges were laid, based solely on ASU evidence.
ASU also assists the Saskatoon Fire Department by watching for signs of a fire spreading to businesses or dwellings. Last year, 35 blazes were located using the plane.
In 2014, the plane logged over 850 hours or 35 days of operational flight time.
The report indicates the program’s success has drawn the attention of other agencies. Police in Calgary and Ottawa as well as RCMP have requested information and made changes to emulate what is being done in Saskatoon.
The aircraft is equipped with a $300,000 infrared camera purchased by Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI). The report says it has proved to be an invaluable resource for day and night searches.
Currently, the program’s airport office is provided free of charge courtesy of Mitchinson’s Flying Service. The space is shared with flight students which complicates discussions due to confidential topics.
In an effort to combat noise complaints, an exhaust pipe extension was installed in January that directs the noise into the sky rather than towards the ground. Noise level testing will be conducted this spring.
The aircraft lease for both 2014 and 2015 is $212,700.
When the plane is not in the air, such as during maintenance, the six officers are reassigned to other duties within the police service.
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