Police aviation

The first police aviation department was established in New York City. Fixed-wing aircraft have generally been replaced by more versatile rotary-wing aircraft since the late 1940s.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, as their higher speed and greater operating altitude allow larger areas to be covered. 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 public order incident includes the police autogyro, that was present during the incident, overhead. The first police aviation unit in China, the Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau Aviation Squad was established in 1993 in the Wuhan municipal public security bureau. ==Rotary-wing aircraft==

helicopters operated by the Los Angeles Police Department Air Support Division The most common form of police rotary-wing aircraft is the helicopter, but other types of rotary-wing aircraft such as autogyros are also used. The Groen Hawk 4 autogyro was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics 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. They have also been used to perform search and rescue, notably in China after Tropical Storm Bilis. Some policing organisations, such as the Policía Federal in Mexico, acquire new military rotary-wing aircraft such as the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. However, most buy civilian rotary-wing aircraft directly from major aircraft companies or lease them from specialty suppliers. The use of police helicopters by the Los Angeles Police Department has been criticized for causing excessive noise and pollution and harming the well-being of community members. ==Fixed-wing and nonrigid-wing aircraft==

and Piper PA-31 Navajo operated by the National Police of Colombia Some police air units also use fixed-wing aircraft, which allow higher and quieter surveillance, 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, 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. and powered parachutes can sometimes be used to provide a cost-effective replacement for helicopters in the observation platform role. on a "JPATS" flight used to transport prisonersThe Edgley Optica was a British fixed-wing aircraft built for observation use and was used by the Hampshire Constabulary as an alternative to rotary-wing aircraft. The Britten-Norman Defender is used by the Greater Manchester Police, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda Síochána. 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==

used for observation by the New York City Police Department during the 2004 Republican National Convention Police blimps were used to patrol the sky during the 2004 Republican National Convention, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The blimp Santos-Dumont, named for Alberto Santos-Dumont, 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. 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 vehicles, or drones, for surveillance operations. Unmanned aerial vehicles come in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing types. == List of police aviation units ==

; Active units Australia • New South Wales Police Force Aviation Command • Queensland Police Service (operated through Surf Life Saving Queensland Aviation) • South Australia Police • Victoria Police Air Wing • Western Australia Police Air Wing operated by the German Federal Police ;Austria • Air Police (Flugpolizei) of the Directorate General for Public Security ;Canada • Calgary Police Service - HAWCS • Durham Regional Police Service - Air Support Unit • Ontario Provincial Police - Joint Air Support Unit • Regina Police Service - Aerial Support Unit • Saskatoon Police Service - Air Support Unit • Winnipeg Police Service - Flight Operations Unit • York Regional Police - Air Support Unit • Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau Aviation Squad • Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau • 1st Mobile Corps Helicopter Detachment • 2nd Mobile Corps Helicopter Detachment ;Cyprus • Cyprus Police Aviation Unit ;France • National Gendarmerie Forces aériennes de la Gendarmerie ;Germany • Federal Police - Bundespolizei-Flugdienst (BPOLFLD) • Baden-Württemberg State Police - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel • Bavarian State Police - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel • Berlin State Police - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel • Brandenburg State Police - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel • Hamburg State Police - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel • Hesse State Police - Polizeifliegerstaffel • Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state maritime police, the Wasserschutzpolizei - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel • North Rhine-Westphalia State Police - Polizeifliegerstaffel • Rhineland-Palatinate State Police - Polizeihubschrauberstaffel ;Indonesia • Indonesian National Police Marine and Air Corps - Air Police Directorate ;Iran • Iranian Police Aviation ;Ireland • Garda Air Support Unit ;Japan • Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Aviation Unit ;Malaysia • Royal Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit ;Mexico operated by the Spanish National Police Corps • Mexico City Police Condor Group ;Netherlands • Police Aviation Service ;New Zealand • Eagle Helicopter Unit ;North Macedonia • Macedonian police helicopter unit ;Oman • Royal Oman Police - Police Aviation Directorate ;Panama • National Aeronaval Service ;Philippines • Philippine National Police Air Unit ;Romania • General Inspectorate of Aviation ;Saudi Arabia • General Directorate of Public Security Aviation Command ;Serbia • Police of Serbia Helicopter Unit ;South Africa • South African Police Service Air Wing ;South Korea • National Police Agency Aviation Division ;Taiwan • National Airborne Service Corps ;Uganda • Uganda Police Force Air Wing ;United Kingdom • National Police Air Service • Police Scotland Air Support Unit • Police Service of Northern Ireland Air Support Unit ;United States of America Many local, state, and federal US law enforcement agencies operate helicopters, and some operate fixed-wing aircraft. ;Federal agencies • Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Air Operations Division • State Department Air Wing • United States Fish and Wildlife Service Branch of Aviation Management • United States Park Police Aviation Unit ; Alabama • Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Aviation Unit • Dale County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit: 2 Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopters, 1 MD 600N helicopter, and 1 Cessna Skylane 182RG fixed-wing aircraft • Etowah County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit: 1 Bell OH-58C helicopter • Oxford Police Department's Aviation Support Unit: 1 MD Helicopters MD 500 • Shelby County Sheriff's Office Air Support Unit: 1 Bell TH-67 Creek helicopter, 1 Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter, and 1 OH-58 Kiowa helicopter • Tuscaloosa Police Department Air Patrol Division: 4 Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopters ; Alaska ; Arizona operated by the Maryland State Police ; Arkansas • Arkansas State Police Air Support Unit: 1 Bell 407, 1 Cessna 206, and 1 Beechcraft B200 King Air • Baxter County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit: 1 Bell OH-58 • Benton County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit: 2 Bell OH-58A helicopters • Little Rock Police Department Aviation Unit • Mississippi County Aviation Unit: 2 Bell OH-58A helicopters ; California • California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations • LAPD Air Support Division • Los Angeles County Sheriff's Aero Bureau ; Colorado • Denver Police Department Air Support Unit ; Connecticut • New Milford Police Aviation Unit ; Delaware • Delaware State Police Aviation Section ; District of Columbia • Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit ; Florida • Marion County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit - at least four helicopters ; Georgia • Atlanta Police Department Helicopter Unit: 3 MD530F helicopters • Clayton County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit • Dekalb County Ariel Support Unit: 2 Eurocopter AS-350 helicopters • Georgia Department of Natural Resources Aviation Unit: 3 Bell 407 helicopters • Georgia State Patrol Aviation Division ; Hawaii • Honolulu Police Department Helicopter Section ; Idaho • Kootenai County Sheriff's Office Regional Air Support ; Illinois • Chicago Police Department Marine and Helicopter Unit • Illinois State Police Air Operations Bureau ; Indiana • Fort Wayne Police Department Air Support Unit • Indiana State Police Aviation Section: 3 helicopters, and 2 fixed-winged planes • Lake County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit: 1 Eurocopter EC-120 helicopter, 2 OH-58 helicopters, and 1 UH-1H helicopters ; Iowa • Cedar Rapids Police Department • Iowa State Patrol Air Wing Unit ; Kansas • Kansas Highway Patrol Troop T - Aircraft: 1 Bell 407 helicopter, 1 Airbus H125 helicopter, 1 Cessna 182 RG fixed-wing aircraft, 3 Cessna 206 fixed-wing aircraft, and a 2001 King Air 350 for Executive transport for state officials ; Maine • Maine State Police Air Wing - 2 Cessna 183 fixed-wing aircraft • Maine Forest Service Forest Protection Aviation Branch - 2 Bell 407 helicopters, 5 UH-1H (Huey) helicopters, and 3 fixed-wing aircraft • Maine Marine Patrol - 1 Kodiak 100 fixed-wing aircraft • Maine Warden Service Aviation Division - 3 fixed-wing aircraft ; Maryland • Maryland State Police Aviation Command • Anne Arundel County Police Aviation Unit • Baltimore Police Aviation Unit • Baltimore County Police Department: 3 AS350B3 helicopters • Prince George's County Police Aviation Section ; Massachusetts • Massachusetts State Police Air Wing ; Nebraska • Nebraska State Patrol Aviation Support Division: 1 Bell 407 helicopter, 3 Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair fixed-wing aircraft, and 1 Piper Super Cub • Omaha Police Department Air Support Unit: 2 Bell 206 helicopters ; Nevada • Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Air Support Unit ; New Hampshire • New Hampshire State Police Special Enforcement Unit (SEU) ; New Jersey • New Jersey State Police - Special Operations Section - Aviation Bureau ; New York • New York State Police Aviation Unit • Erie County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit • New York City Police Department Aviation Unit • New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police Aviation Unit • Nassau County Police Department Aviation Unit • Onondaga County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit • Suffolk County Police Department Aviation Section • Westchester County Police Aviation Unit ; North Carolina • North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Air Wing • North Carolina Highway Patrol Aviation • North Carolina Marine Patrol Aviation • Brunswick County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit • Robeson County Sheriff's Office Aviation Division • Wayne County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit ; North Dakota • North Dakota Highway Patrol Aircraft ; Ohio operated by the Ohio State Highway Patrol • Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation Section • Cleveland Police Department Aviation Unit ; Oklahoma • Oklahoma City Police Department Air Support Unit: 2 Airbus H125 helicopters • Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troop O - Aircraft: 9 fixed-wing aircraft, 2 helicopters • Tulsa Police Department Air Support Unit: 1 Airbus AS 3503B ; Oregon • Oregon State Police Aviation Unit - four fixed-wing Cessnas • Clackamas County Sheriff Air Support Unit - one Cessna 182 • Portland Police Air Support Unit ; Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Emergency and Special Operations Aviation Units • Philadelphia Police Aviation Unit ; Puerto Rico • Puerto Rico Joint Forces of Rapid Action • Puerto Rico Natural Resources Ranger Corps Aerial Patrol ; South Dakota • South Dakota Highway Patrol Aviation Unit - One Cessna T206 ; Texas • Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Section ; Utah • Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau (helicopters) ; Virginia • Virginia State Police 3 airplanes, 7 helicopters • Fairfax County Police Department Helicopter Division (two helicopters) • Henrico County Metro Aviation Unit • Virginia Beach Police Department Special Operations Aviation Unit ; Washington • Washington State Patrol: Special Operations Division: Aviation Section • King County Sheriff's Office Air Support (three helicopters) • Pierce County Sheriff's Department Air Operations - two Cessna 206s • Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Air Support • Spokane County Sheriff's Office (three helicopters) ; West Virginia • West Virginia State Police Aviation Section ; Wisconsin • Wisconsin State Patrol Air Support Unit ;Vietnam • Police Aviation Regiment Disbanded units ;United Kingdom • Chiltern Air Support Unit • Western Counties Air Operations Unit ;United States • Nevada Highway Patrol Flight Operations • Port Authority of NY and NJ Police Department Aviation Unit Border guards and customs services ;Estonia • Police and Border Guard Aviation Group ;Italy • Air Maritime Exploration Squadron Guardia di Finanza ;United States • Customs & Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Maritime law enforcement agencies operated by the Italian Coast Guard Air Service ;Iceland • Icelandic Coast Guard Aeronautical Division ;Italy • Italian Coast Guard Air Service ;Spain • Galician Coast Guard ;United States • US Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron == See also ==