The blades thrash the air, a spotlight scours the ground, and it feels like an episode of “Cops.” Still, police say it is nothing to be afraid of. Police helicopters are there to help.
“We don’t shoot from the helicopters. We’re not a military helicopter,” Lt. Mike Elkins said. “Think of us like an overhead patrol unit.”
Elkins is one of the supervisors of the Columbus Police’s Helicopter Patrol Unit. The unit, which consists of 22 people, is responsible for assisting ground patrol forces in stopping and preventing crime in Columbus, including the campus area.
The Helicopter Patrol Unit includes 15 patrol pilots, three sergeants and six MD 500E turbine helicopters.
Since the helicopter unit was established in Columbus in 1972, officers on the ground have been counting on those in the air to help them fight crime. Elkins calls the helicopter unit a “force multiplier” and estimates one helicopter can take the place of 10 to 20 officers.
A helicopter can get to the scene of a crime faster than a patrol car, with an average response time of 1.3 minutes.
“We characterize ourselves as the fastest and most visible police response you’re going to get,” Elkins said. “We are there initially to assess the situation, provide information to that ground officer, see who this person is, and what other enforcement action needs to be done.”
A helicopter can monitor the scene from above and can let the ground patrols know if a criminal is on the run and where the criminal is headed. Operators can also determine how many ground patrols will be needed and the seriousness of the crime.
There are tools up in the helicopter that ground patrols don’t have. Each helicopter is equipped with a large spotlight, nicknamed the “night sun,” that helps spot suspicious activity.
The helicopters are also equipped with a flare unit, used mostly at night, that contains an infrared camera, which tracks down anything emitting heat. If suspects are running from the police through a thick forest or hiding behind houses, the helicopter will be able to detect them on the infrared camera. The camera can also spot objects that criminals try to throw away, such as guns.
But maintaining a fleet of helicopters and skilled crews isn’t cheap.
Each helicopter costs more than $1 million. The annual fuel budget is $245,000, and the maintenance budget is about $600,000.
But the service that they provide is worth much more, Elkins said.
“I never lose sight of our base mission, and our mission is [ground] patrol support,” he said. “I can’t nickel and dime that.”
With the high cost of fueling a helicopter, not all six choppers are up in the air at the same time. Each crews takes a two-hour shift that rotates between noon and 4 a.m. In rare cases, including periods of heavy crime, there are two helicopters in the air, Elkins said.
Unlike ground patrols, which are often responsible for only a portion of the city, helicopter crews patrol the entire city. And as if that jurisdiction were not broad enough, the unit sometimes responds to calls in nearby counties.
The helicopters also frequently patrol the OSU campus and sometimes monitor football games.
Each helicopter seats up to four people, but only two are up in the helicopter at a time: the pilot and the tactical flight officer. While the pilot flies the helicopter, the officer scans a police radio listening for requests for helicopter assistance. When that occurs, the officer guides the pilot to the area of the crime.
The unit is strictly used for issues involving police and crime. They are not transport helicopters that carry passengers, and they do not deal with traffic reports.
For now, Elkins has no plans to change the number of helicopters in the unit. But he said he would like to find a way to have a helicopter up in the morning when businesses are opening and children are going to school.
Because of union contracts and costs of operating the helicopters, Elkins is unable to add an extra shift, but if a crime does happen during that time and a helicopter is requested, Elkin has pilots on standby.
