New national police air service
A new National Police Air
Service is set to provide a
more efficient and accessible
air support service
throughout England and
Wales that offers better value
for money.
Responding to the findings of
a comprehensive review commissioned
in 2009, ACPO members
have approved the central
recommendation to replace the
current air support system with a
service organised nationally, but
delivered locally.
The Government has expressed
a commitment to establishing
the National Police Air
Service (NPAS) by April 2012. An
ACPO-led project team has been
supported by the National Police
Improvement Agency to develop
an implementation plan for this
national service.
In difficult financial times, the
NPAS illustrates how the Police
Service is proactively moving towards
a national, co-ordinated
way of working.
The new service will work collaboratively
to provide capability
from the air that maximises the
delivery of front-line public services,
but with a lower cost than
services procured and managed
on a local basis. The proposed
model predicts a saving of an estimated£15.27m (22.8%) over
current provision.
Head of the NPAS, Chief
Constable Alex Marshall, said:
“This is not merely a cost-saving
exercise.
“While the current service
is capable of doing its day job,
artificial boundaries have meant
that helicopters are restricted to
operating within their own force
area. A national, borderless service
will ensure effective coverage
of urban and rural areas.”
Acting Chief Executive of the
NPIA, Deputy Chief Constable
Nick Gargan, said: “This will be
a truly national policing service
that will be at the heart of improving
public safety.
“The NPIA has played a substantial
role in helping to set up
the service, which will bring operational
efficiencies and allow
for the introduction of innovative
contracts that offer better value
for money for the service and the
taxpayer.”
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