Air Support Unit - What do we do?
The Metropolitan Police helicopters are aerial observation and communication platforms, providing an often-vital resource to officers across the Metropolitan Police area. The main activities undertaken by the ASU are described below;
Suspect Searches: This is the most common request for the unit, whenever a suspect has gone into hiding in a particular area. With an aerial view, suspects who have concealed themselves from sight of officers on the ground are often visible to the crew in the helicopters, and they will direct ground officers toward the suspect. With the use of the onboard thermal image camera the aircraft crew can see just as clearly at night as they can during the daylight hours and often use the spotlight to assist with both searching and directing officers on the ground.
Vehicle Pursuit: The ASU will be assigned to attend all vehicle pursuits immediately. When above the pursuit the crew will video and down link or transmit live pictures to the Central Communications Command (CCC). The presence of the aircraft allows the CCC supervisors to manage the pursuit in accordance with national guidelines. To manage the risk of a pursuit, the helicopter should enable the lead police car to pull back to a safe distance from the suspect vehicle. This option reduces the risk of a collision. The observers will collect evidence by way of a video recording and later produce the video as evidence.
Missing Persons: The ASU deals with many searches for missing persons, as it is faster, easier and more effective to search large open areas from the air. This also enables other resources to be deployed elsewhere to continue to make local enquiries and searches. During darkness all subjects, police, suspects and missing persons appear as a silhouette on the thermal image camera and it is because of this the crew work closely with ground units in order to check any identified heat sources.
Firearms: The ASU is frequently tasked to firearms incidents, the crew can view a target area, search open ground quickly and contain a site. The crews have access to the firearms radio channel and work closely with armed units when assisting.
Public Order: To enhance public and police safety, almost all pre-planned public order events require the services and facilities of aerial support. The crew will down-link live pictures to either the Central Communications Command or to small suitcase size mobile receivers so the incident commander can make informed decisions on the basis of real time pictures. All events are recorded on video for evidential purposes. Regular events covered by the ASU include Notting Hill Carnival, demonstrations, marches and many football matches.
Stolen Vehicle Tracking: All ASU aircraft are fitted with receiving boxes. We have a significant success rate of either identifying the vehicle location, or giving ground officers a defined search area where there may be garages or lock ups.
Crime Reduction: A priority of the MPS is the reduction of crime. Boroughs run varying operations to target particular areas with high visibility patrols. The ASU work to support these initiatives, by flying or patrolling for short periods of time over a prescribed area and at lower levels than normal, being overt in their presence. Similar task shave shown a reduction in reported crime. The ASU continue to be involved with operations 'Safer Streets' and 'Safer Homes'. Also whilst patrolling these specific areas the aircraft is often requested to assist with other local incidents. They are able to respond more quickly than if taking off from Lippetts Hill.
Counter Terrorism: The ASU is constantly deployed to monitor a variety of vital points throughout London. We also work closely with Police Search Adviser prior to events requiring a high level of security, i.e. Trooping the Colour, State Visits and other ceremonial events. The unit provides a wealth of information in various forms to enable the search advisors to perform their role with efficiency and effectiveness.
VIP Escorts: The ASU are used to assist the Special Escort Group (SEG) with the transport of both VIP's and high-risk prisoner movements, the aircraft will also video the movement. Although the route is not always known, the ASU will attempt to look ahead and pre-warn the SEG of any potential problems.
Photographic Tasks: The ASU are used to assist the Special Escort Group (SEG) with the transport of both VIP's and high-risk prisoner movements, the aircraft will also video the movement. Although the route is not always known, the ASU will attempt to look ahead and pre-warn the SEG of any potential problems.
Transport of Specialists: This is a very limited area. The only officers who are familiarised to fly as passengers at the present time are MPS dog handlers, who have completed additional training at Lippetts Hill.