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4 Int'l J. Police Sci. & Mgmt. 233 (2002)
Operational Value of Police Helicopters: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

handle is hein.journals/injposcim4 and id is 247 raw text is: International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 4 Number 3 Operational value of police helicopters: A cost-benefit analysis Paul C. Whitehead Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N5X 3W2, Canada; Tel: (519) 661 3694; Fax: (519) 850 2428; E-mail: paulcw@uwo.ca Received: 10 January 2001 Paul C. Whitehead PhD is Professor of Sociol- ogy at the University of Western Ontario in Lon- don, Ontario, Canada. He has published over 100 books and articles in scholarly journals. His specialisations are in the areas of programme evaluation and criminology He designed and conducted the one-year study of the use of a police helicopter in London. Among the unique features of that study is that it established exper- imental and control areas within the same city to test the deterrent effect of helicopter patrols on the incidence of crime. The present paper is the first cost-benefit analysis that examines the monetary value of time saved by the operational effectiveness of the police helicopter. ABSTRACT A cost-benefit analysis is conducted to determine whether there are savings that can be attributed to the use of a helicopter in police work. Costs are based on the actual leasing and operational expenditures for the use of the helicopter for 1000 hours over a one-year period. The benefits are measured in terms of efficiency and effective- ness. Efficiency is the monetised value ofpolicing time that is saved by other police officers being cancelled from having to attend and by the amount of police downtime saved when the helicopter is involved. Effectiveness is measured by monetising the value of higher rates of appre- hension when the helicopter is involved by taking into consideration the value of greater detective time to effect the balance of these apprehensions. The study concludes that at least 25 per cent of the cost appears as a saving (benefit) and further suggests that, if the helicopter were deployed differently, the benefit could be increased to at least about 42 per cent of cost. These benefits are in addition to a variety of non-monetised con- tributions that are unique to helicopter involvement. INTRODUCTION The case for the use of helicopters in polic- ing has been made principally on two sets of grounds: that police helicopter patrols reduce the incidence of crime; and that helicopters increase the operational effec- tiveness of the police. A review of previous research on heli- copter patrols in Lakewood, California (Guthrie, 1968), Kansas City (Center for Criminal Justice, 1971), Los Angeles (Weaver and Framan, 1970), Long Beach (Medak, 1970), Columbus (Lateef, 1974), and two studies in Nashville (Schnelle et al., 1978; Kirchner et al., 1980) led Whitehead (2002) to conclude that the impact of heli- copter patrols on the incidence of crime is not proven. This study used experimental areas and matched comparison areas in the same city, and led to the conclusion that helicopter patrols do not reduce the inci- dence of crime (Whitehead, 2001). The operational value of police heli- copters has not been studied systematically. There are claims that the involvement of helicopters increases apprehensions (Weaver hItntionalJonu of Police Science and Management, VoL 4 No. 3. 2002, pp. 233-247. OVathek Publishing, 1461-3557 Page 233

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