The functions and costs of law enforcement aviation units. Lynn Langton Statistician Bureau of Justice Statistics

Transcription

1 The functions and costs of law enforcement aviation units Lynn Langton Statistician Bureau of Justice Statistics

2 Why study law enforcement aviation units? Advantages of airborne policing Able to cover distances faster- often 1 st on scene Greater visual range from the sky Can cover otherwise impassible areas Officers removed from dangers on the ground Potential deterrent effect from aircraft patrols Able to perform routine homeland security critical facility checks Major drawbacks Helicopters/planes are expensive to obtain & operate Helicopters generate substantial noise Aerial patrol & surveillance viewed as obtrusive Safety concerns

3 Prior research on law enforcement aviation units Schnelle et al Examination of the deterrent effect of helicopter patrols in Nashville, TN Found reduction in burglaries during 6-day periods of helicopter patrol Alpert et al NIJ helicopter pursuit study Studied effectiveness of helicopters in police pursuits in Baltimore, MD and Miami-Dade, FL Over 80% arrest success rate when helicopters involved in pursuits

4 London Police Service Helicopter Research Project Assessed deterrent effect of helicopter patrols & impact of helicopter use on police efficiency No effect of patrols except on rates of commercial breaking & entering Improved police response times & rate of suspect apprehension Toronto Police Service Air Support Unit evaluation More effective to hire 25 new officers than to pay $2.1 million for air support unit Prior research on law enforcement aviation units

5 2007 BJS Census of Law Enforcement Aviation Units Census of agencies w/100+ sworn that reported operating a fixed-wing plane or helicopter in the 2003 BJS LEMAS survey 1 st national study on airborne law enforcement Data collected from 3/08 to 9/08. 98% response rate N=201 BJS report released in July 2009 Aviation Units in Large Law Enforcement Agencies, 2007

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7 Major findings- Full study 1 in 5 large law enforcement agencies operated a plane or helicopter in 2007 $300 million spent on aircraft purchase, leasing/financing, fuel, and maintenance Median of about $350,000 Units logged a median of 1,100 flight hours and 1,000 missions flown

8 Aviation unit annual expenditures for aircraft by expense, by type of agency, and type and number of aircraft, Expenditures Total Aircraft purchase Aircraft leasing/ financing Aircraft maintenance Aircraft fuel Sum for all units $282,900,000 $159,000,000 $16,800,000 $75,500,000 $34,900,000 Median per unit by type of agency All agencies $347,300 $2,150,400 $279,500 $167,200 $80,600 State police 629,500 1,400, , , ,900 Municipal police 418,900 1,800, , ,400 90,000 County police 359,700 5,112, , ,500 Sheriff 193,000 3,100, , ,000 56,300 Median per unit by number of aircraft per unit 1 aircraft $46,700 $340,000 $130,000 $15,000 $12, aircraft 325,000 2,015, , ,000 73, aircraft 1,469,800 2,800,000 1,502, , ,800 Number of units

9 Median number of flight hours and missions flown per unit, plane, helicopter, and pilot, by type of agency, Type of agency & tracking Flight hours Total Unit Plane Helicopter Pilot All agencies 350,300 1, State police 137,600 2, Municipal police 131,900 1, County police 13,600 1, Sheriff 67, Missions flown Median per- All agencies 336,700 1, State police 44, Municipal police 189,700 1, County police 32,800 2,500 1, Sheriff 69,

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11 Distribution of the 53-unit sample across type of agency and number of fulltime sworn personnel looks fairly similar to the distribution of aviation units from the full census. Comparison of the distribution of sample aviation units to the full census of agencies across law enforcement agency type and size. Percent of units falling into each category Agency type and size 53-unit sample 201 aviation units Type of agency State police 21% 22% Local police Sheriff's office Full-time sworn personnel* % 22% or more 30 34

12 Characteristics of 53 aviation units. Characteristics All State police Local police Sheriffs' offices Number of units Type of unit Plane-only Helicopter-only Both Number of aircraft per unit One or more Median annual expenditures $340,000 $877,000 $544,188 $292,465 As percent of agency operating budget a 0.34% 0.75% 0.64% 0.25% Median number personnel assigned to unit FT sworn officers Pilots Median flight hours 790 1,110 1, Median number missions flown Average number of aircraft over 20 years old a. Data available for 91% of aviation units.

13 Table. Percent of units that performed various functions in Percent of aviation units Functions performed All agencies State police Local police Sheriffs' offices Number of aviation units (N) General operations Respond to calls for service 96 % 100 % 100 % 93 % Direct assistance in arrest Searches using thermal Vehicle pursuits Foot pursuits Traffic enforcement citations DUI arrests Stolen vehicle recoveries Photo flights Counterterrorism missions 79% 73% 85% 79% SWAT operations Tactical insertions of SWAT members 42 % 55 % 15 % 48 % Tactical insertions via helicopter skid deployment Tactical insertions via fast rope/rappel deployment Incidents involving airborne use of force EMS operations Searches for lost adventurers 79 % 82 % 62 % 86 % Hoist rescue missions Other rescue missions Respond to on-scene medical emergency Transports to medical facilities Surveillance operations Counternarcotics missions 87 % 91 % 100 % 79 % Other criminal surveillance missions Prisoner transport Prisoner air transport 21 % 46 % 23 % 11 % Extraditions using unit aircraft Firefighting 55% 64% 54% 52%

14 Table. General operations functions performed. Median number of times general operations functions were performed in 2007 State police aviation units Local police aviation units Sheriff's office avaition units Functions performed 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft 1aircraft 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft* Respond to calls for service Direct assistance in arrest Searches using thermal imagery camera equipment Vehicle pursuits Foot pursuits Traffic enforcement citations DUI arrests Stolen vehicle recoveries Photo flights Number of aviation units (N)

15 Aviation unit stolen vehicle recoveries as a percent of total reported motor vehicle thefts. Reported motor vehicle thefts 2007 Motor vehicle theft Aviation unit stolen vehicle recoveries Percent of vehicles recovered N* Local police units 10 27, % 2-5 aircraft 6 11, % 6+ aircraft 4 16, % Sheriff's office units % 1 aircraft % 2-5 aircraft 13 4, % 6+ aircraft 1 2, % Note: Data on reported motor vehicle thefts provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, Incidents known to police by city and county agency, Data not available for state agencies. Local police and sheriff's data availabl * Includes aviation units that recovered stolen vehicles in 2007 and reported motor vehicle thefts numbers to the UCR.

16 Table. Aviation units' driving under the influence (DUI) arrests as a percent of total agency DUI arrests median driving under the influence (DUI) arrests Percent of aviation unit N* Agency-wide Aviation unit DUI arrests Local police units 8 2, % 2-5 aircraft 4 1, % 6+ aircraft % Sheriff's office units % 1 aircraft % 2-5 aircraft % Note: Data on DUI arrests provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data [United States]: Arrests by Age, Sex, and Race, State agencies not included. * Includes aviation units that made a DUI arrest in 2007.

17 Table. Special operations functions performed, Median number of times special operations functions were performed in 2007 State police aviation units Local police aviation units Sheriff's office avaition units Functions performed 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft 1aircraft 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft* Counterterrorism missions Tactical insertions of SWAT members Tactical insertions via helicopter skid deployment Tactical insertions via fast rope/rappel deployment Incidents involving airborne use of force Searches for lost hikers/skiers/boaters Hoist rescue missions Other rescue missions Respond to on-scene medical emergency Transports to medical facilities Counternarcotics missions Other criminal surveillance missions Prisoner air transport Extraditions using unit aircraft Firefighting Function is not performed by the aviation units.

18 Total number of operations performed by aviation units total aviation unit activity 2-5 aircraft 6+ aircraft Number of function performed Maximum Median Maximum Median State police units 8, ,300 5,300 General operations 8, ,600 1,700 Special operations ,700 4,200 Local police units 8,600 2,100 26,100 9,900 General operations 8,100 1,900 24,200 9,200 Special operations , Sheriffs' office units 9,200 1,400 4, General operations 6, , Special operations 4,

19 General operations functions performed Median expenditures 150 or fewer times $203,250 (n=4) $49,670 (n=6) $300,000 (n=3) times $128,000 (n=7) $107,580 (n=3) $292,470 (n=3) $661,200 (n=2) times $170,000 (n=1) $556,000 (n=4) $141,000 (n=3) $1,263,400 (n=5) Greater than 2500 times $129,900 (n=1) $6,443,160 (n=1) $770,340 (n=4) $2,101,680 (n=6) Special operations functions Greater than 500 performed 75 or fewer times times times times

20 Future research Need for an examination of the contribution of law enforcement aviation units that takes into account the full range of functions performed by aviation units Assessment of the factors impacting the cost of operating an aviation unit

21 BJS report available at: