Victoria Police (CHC Helicopters Australia) Eurocopter AS-365N-3 Dauphin 2 Vabre

Police aviation is the use of

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events and/or public order incidents. They may employ

rotary-wing aircraft A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internat ...

, fixed-wing aircraft, nonrigid-wing aircraft or lighter-than-air aircraft. In some major cities, police rotary-wing aircraft are also used as air transportation for personnel belonging to SWAT-style units. In large, sparsely populated areas, fixed-wing aircraft are sometimes used to transport personnel and equipment.

History

The first police aviation department was established in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Fixed-wing aircraft have generally been replaced by more versatile rotary-wing aircraft since the late 1940s. However, fixed-wing aircraft are still used in some missions, such as

border patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In dif ...

, as their higher speed and greater operating altitude allow larger areas to be covered. In 1921, the British

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

R33 was used to help the police with traffic control around horse racing events at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

and Ascot. A large mural on the side of St. George's Town Hall in the East End of London depicting the 1936

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by mem ...

public order incident includes the police

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

, that was present during the incident, overhead.

Rotary-wing aircraft

The most common form of police rotary-wing aircraft is the

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, but other types of rotary-wing aircraft such as

s are also used. The

Groen Hawk 4 The Groen Hawk 4 was a single engine, pusher configuration, four seat autogyro built in the United States in the late 1990s. Three prototypes, two piston engined and one turboprop powered, were flown but the Hawk did not go into production. Des ...

autogyro was used during the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

in Salt Lake City, Utah. Police rotary-wing aircraft are sometimes equipped to perform multiple functions, or are designed so that equipment can be changed quickly when required for divergent roles. For example, a rotary-wing aircraft could be used for search-and-rescue, and then as an

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

. Police forces sometimes use military surplus rotary-wing aircraft, such as the

Bell UH-1 Huey The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

. Some policing organisations, such as the Policía Federal in Mexico, acquire new military rotary-wing aircraft such as the

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

. However, most buy civilian rotary-wing aircraft directly from major aircraft companies or lease them from specialty suppliers.

Fixed-wing and nonrigid-wing aircraft

Some police air units also use fixed-wing aircraft, which allow higher and quieter surveillance, making it less likely that suspects will become aware they are being watched. A few police air units, such as the

Northern Territory Police The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,537 police members (as at 31 July 2019) made up of 79 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 839 con ...

in Australia, use only fixed-wing aircraft. The use of fixed-wing aircraft also allows for longer flying times and incurs lower running costs. Fixed-wing aircraft are also used to transport prisoners, with the

Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System The Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS), nicknamed "Con Air", is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with the transportation of persons in legal custody among prisons, detention centers, courtho ...

(nicknamed "''Con Air''") perhaps being the largest example of this use. Fixed-wing aircraft are also used to provide regular police patrols in remote communities and to transport investigators to remote crime scenes. Light-sport aircraft and

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

s can sometimes be used to provide a cost-effective replacement for helicopters in the observation platform role. The

Edgley Optica The Edgley EA-7 Optica is a British light aircraft designed for low-speed observation work, and intended as a low-cost alternative to helicopters. The Optica has a loiter speed of 130 km/h (70 kn; 81 mph) and a stall speed of 108 ...

was a British fixed-wing aircraft built for observation use and was used by the

Hampshire Constabulary The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012 The force area inc ...

as an alternative to rotary-wing aircraft. The

Britten-Norman Defender The Britten-Norman Defender is a multi-role utility transport aircraft, manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. It is the military version of the Britten-Norman Islander, developed for roles such as utility transport, casualty eva ...

is used by the

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

, the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

and the Garda Síochána. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

deployed one Britten-Norman Defender for electronic aerial surveillance at the

Branch Davidian The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of ...

compound during the

Waco siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. ...

in 1993. In Greater London, the Metropolitan Police Service has, for a number of years, reportedly been secretly using Cessna aircraft that have been fitted with surveillance equipment capable of intercepting mobile telephone calls and listening in on conversations.

Lighter-than-air aircraft

Police

blimp A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hy ...

s were used to patrol the sky during the

2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...

, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The blimp ''Santos-Dumont'', named for

Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavie ...

, operates in the Caribbean for the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad & Tobago (SAUTT), providing security surveillance. During April 2009, this blimp provided aerial surveillance of the 5th Summit of the Americas in

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

. Greater Manchester Police began trial operations of a blimp in 2010 to provide surveillance for major events, which would be a cheaper alternative to the use of a helicopter in the long term. However, the blimp was only used on 18 occasions because of weather-related operational problems.

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Police in some areas have started using

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controll ...

s, or drones, for surveillance operations. Unmanned aerial vehicles come in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing types.

List of police aviation units

; * Queensland Police Service *

Western Australia Police Air Wing The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

Victoria Police Air Wing The Air Wing is the police aviation unit of Victoria Police that operates in metropolitan Melbourne and provides a service to the whole of Victoria. The Air Wing operates a fleet of three Leonardo AW139 helicopters and a Beechcraft Super King ...

* Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania *

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...

; *

Air Police (Austria) The Directorate General for Public Security (''Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit'', "GDföS") is the governing body of general law enforcement in Austria and a division of the Ministry of the Interior. It oversees the Federal Polic ...

; *

Cyprus Police Aviation Unit The Cyprus Police Aviation Unit (CPAU) ( el, Μονάδα Αεροπορικών Επιχειρήσεων (Μ.Α.ΕΠ.), is the police aviation unit of the Headquarters of Cyprus Police, the national police of the Republic of Cyprus and was estab ...

; *

Hong Kong Government Flying Service The Government Flying Service (GFS) is a disciplined unit and paramilitary flying organisation of the Government of Hong Kong. The service has its head office in, and operates from, the southwestern end of Hong Kong International Airport at ...

; * Iranian Police Aviation ; * Garda Air Support Unit ; *

Royal Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit The Royal Malaysia Police Air Operation Force ( Malay: ''Pasukan Gerakan Udara PDRM (PGU)'') is a special unit of Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). They look after national security by surveillance and patrol from the air and help other national se ...

; * Condor Group ; * Police Aviation Service ; * Macedonian police helicopter unit ; * Royal Oman Police - Police Aviation Directorate ; *

National Aeronaval Service The National Aeronaval Service of Panama, also called SENAN (abbreviation for es, Servicio Nacional Aeronaval), is a branch of the Panamanian Public Forces which is responsible for carrying out naval and air operations. Its role is to perform pro ...

; * Philippine National Police Air Unit ; * General Inspectorate of Aviation ; * Serbian police helicopter unit ; * South African Police Service Air Wing ; *

National Airborne Service Corps The National Airborne Service Corps (NASC; ) is the sole agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan) that operates aircraft and helicopters besides military and paramilitary units. The agency is responsible for executing and providing aerial supp ...

; *

National Police Air Service The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police aviation service that provides centralised air support to the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, as well as the three special police forces serving that area. It replaced the pr ...

* Police Scotland Air Support Unit * Police Service of Northern Ireland Air Support Unit

Many local, state, and federal US law enforcement agencies operate helicopters, and some operate fixed-wing aircraft.

Federal Agencies

State Department Air Wing The State Department Air Wing (DoSAW), formally the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Office of Aviation (INL Air Wing or INL/A) is an office of the United States Department of State that supports diplomatic aviation ...

; Arizona * Phoenix Police Department Air Support Unit ; California * California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations LAPD Bell 206 Jetranger

* LAPD Air Support Division * Los Angeles County Sheriff's Aero Bureau ; Colorado *

Denver Police Department The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides police services to the entire county, including Denver International Airport, and may provide contractu ...

helicopter ; Florida * Marion County Sheriff Aviation Unit - at least four helicopters ; Maryland * Maryland State Police Aviation Command * Baltimore County Police Department: 3 AS350B3 helicopters ; Nevada * Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Air Support Unit ; New York *

NYPD Aviation Unit The New York City Police Department Aviation Unit is a division of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) focused on airborne law enforcement and public safety. Operating under command of the NYPD Special Operations Bureau, the unit freq ...

Nassau County Police Department The Nassau County Police Department is the law enforcement agency of Nassau County, New York. History In 1925, concerned about rising crime rates, the County Board of Supervisors voted to create the Nassau County Police Department, replacin ...

Aviation ; Oregon * Clackamas County Sheriff Air Support Unit - one Cessna 182 * Portland Police Air Support Unit * Washington County (Oregon) Police Air Support Unit - a single Cessna R172, N575RW *

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Terri Davie has served as Superintendent since November 1, 2020. The ...

Aviation Unit - four fixed-wing Cessnas ; Utah *

Utah Department of Public Safety Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a law enforcement agency in the State of Utah, headquartered in Taylorsville. Utah Department of Public Safety is under the direction of Commissioner Jess L. Anderson. The agency is headquartered at Sou ...

Aero Bureau (helicopters) ; Virginia *

Virginia State Police The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehi ...

3 airplanes, 7 helicopters *

Fairfax County Police Department The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) is a full-service law enforcement agency, located in Northern Virginia. The FCPD services a population of 1,081,726 residents within of Fairfax County, Virginia. The stated mission of the department i ...

Helicopter Division (two helicopters) ; Washington *

King County Sheriff's Office The King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is a local police agency in King County, Washington, United States. It is the primary law enforcement agency for all unincorporated areas of King County, as well as 12 cities and two transit agencies which ...

Air Support (three helicopters) * Pierce County Sheriff's Department Air Operations - two Cessna 206s *

Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Snohomish can refer to: * Snohomish people, a tribe of the Lushootseed people native to Puget Sound in Washington State * Snohomish dialect, the dialect of Lushootseed spoken by the tribe * Snohomish, Washington, a city located in the county of the ...

Air Support * Spokane County Sheriff's Office (three helicopters) *

Washington State Patrol The Washington State Patrol (WSP) is the state patrol agency for the U.S. state of Washington. Organized as the Washington State Highway Patrol in 1921, it was renamed and reconstituted in 1933. The agency is charged with the protection of the G ...

: Special Operations Division: Aviation Section ; Wisconsin *

Wisconsin State Patrol The Wisconsin State Patrol is the state patrol for the state of Wisconsin and is a division of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The Wisconsin State Patrol enforces traffic and criminal laws, oversees the motor carrier safety and weight ...

Air Support Unit

Disbanded police aviation units

; *

Chiltern Air Support Unit The Chiltern Air Support Unit (CASU) was a police helicopter unit that operated under a consortium agreement between Bedfordshire Police, Thames Valley Police and Hertfordshire Police until 1 October 2012, when it merged into the National Pol ...

* Western Counties Air Operations Unit * Nevada Highway Patrol Flight Operations

Border guards and customs services

; *

Police and Border Guard Aviation Group The Police and Border Guard Aviation Group ( et, Politsei- ja piirivalveameti lennusalk) is a mixed helicopter and airplane flight unit formerly operating under the Estonian Border Guard, but now subordinate to the Police and Border Guard Board. ...

; * Air Maritime Exploration Squadron Guardia di Finanza ; * CBP Office of Air and Marine