The Regina Police Service (RPS) aerial support unit (ASU) had a busy weekend as it responded to several calls, including for break-ins and vehicle theft.
Over the weekend, the RPS received reports of a garage break-in, a construction site break-in and a stolen vehicle but with the assistance of the ASU, officers were able to quickly and safely apprehend suspects.
“Through a powerful camera and thermal imaging, ASU gets eyes on suspects and situations the moment the calls come in,” police stated.
On Saturday evening and early Sunday, the ASU assisted in apprehending five suspects in connection with the break-ins and stolen vehicle. According to a release, the first call came in around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
“The caller stated her SUV had been stolen from the 1400 Block of Rae Street. ASU helped Patrol officers on the ground locate the vehicle driving nearby and were able to follow it east of the city where it came to a stop,” the statement read.
“The three occupants exited the vehicle, ran and hid in a bush. ASU officers directed members of Patrol and Canine Units to the suspects. They were arrested without further incident.”
The second call came at 12:10 a.m., where officers responded to a report of a break-in in progress in the 1200 block of McTavish Street. Police stated that the suspects were spotted holding crowbars as they fled the scene on bikes.
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“Within 30 minutes, ASU was able to track one of the suspects and Patrol officers arrested him in the area of 7th Avenue and McIntosh Street,” the RPS stated. “The suspect was also wanted in relation to a break and enter and theft from earlier in August.”
The third call came before 1 a.m., where the ASU assisted on a second break-and-enter call.
“This time, the suspect was seen inside a shipping container belonging to a construction company working in the 1900 Block of Retallack Street,” the statement read. “ASU was able to track the suspect, alerting Patrol officers on the ground that he was hiding in behind the shipping container before running east-bound away from the site. Officers gave chase on foot and the suspect was taken into custody a short time later.”
The RPS said five men are facing charges such as break and enter and theft under $5,000.
The ASU first launched in January of this year and RPS has been seeing this initiative a success to the service.
“It allows officers not to be in a hurry to get anywhere because the plane has eyes on it. We see what they’re doing and where they’re going. And it’s a matter of using that as a means for safety for the public,” said RPS Superintendent Darcy Koch. “There’s no high-speed chases, there is no danger to the officers working at night in the dark because the opposition or plane can see these folks and it becomes a very controlled and safe environment to make arrests.”
Spt. Koch said ASU had over 1600 calls for service, ranging from robberies to break-ins to missing persons and also including stolen cars. The RPS confirms 342 persons were charged with a total of 730 charges.
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