The Cleveland Air Operations Unit (CAOU) was the air support/operations unit for the Cleveland Police force. It has since been replaced with the national asset to police: National Police Air Service (NPAS)

History

Between 1995 and 2009 Cleveland Police was a member of the

North East Air Support Unit The North East Air Support Unit was the main aerial support for police forces in north east England. It has since been replaced by the National Police Air Service, which provides borderless police aviation support across England and Wales. Hi ...

which was a consortium with Durham and Northumbria police forces. The agreement fell apart over funding and location issues so Cleveland Police bought their own helicopter with funds coming from the Cleveland Police Authority and the government. The Cleveland Air Operations Unit was officially declared operational on 1 April 2009. The helicopter is based at Durham Tees Valley Airport. In 2010, the Chief Constables of all of the United Kingdom's Police Forces agreed to pool resources and create the National Police Air Service. Under this framework, it was announced that bases and helicopters would be shared across force boundaries with a model to reduce from 31 bases down to 22. In February 2015, it was announced that this reduction would cut further with a move towards 15 national locations with the Cleveland Police helicopter becoming surplus to requirements in the 2016/2017 financial year.

Fleet

The Cleveland Air Operations Unit had one helicopter. 2009–2010

Eurocopter EC135 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...

T1, registration G-NESV. 2010–2012 Eurocopter EC135P2, registration G-CPAS. It was based at

Teesside International Airport Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...

. Its police call sign was "India 55".

Use

The helicopter supported numerous areas of operational policing such as providing video footage, which was vital in directing officers and other emergency services during major incidents. This technology also enabled the police to capture evidence effectively. The aircraft was equipped with thermal imaging cameras for locating criminals and missing people. The helicopter was also called on to transport people with life-threatening injuries to hospital, when the Great North Air Ambulance was unavailable. The helicopter unit appeared on Channel 5's ''Interceptor'' programme alongside their ground-based colleagues. The last section of filming took place over the end of 2015 and into the start of 2016.

References

External links

Cleveland Police
{{UK home nations police forces Police aviation units of the United Kingdom

History

Fleet

Use

See also

References

External links