Talk of 2nd police helicopter premature, says councillor

The Winnipeg city councillor in charge of protection and community services matters says it's too early to talk about whether a second police helicopter is needed.

Coun. Paula Havixbeck, who chairs the city's protection and community services committee, says officials have yet to tell her how well the current helicopter, Air-1, is doing in terms of fighting crime.

"I think it's important that we first look at the current usage and whether it's meeting our needs and how to proceed beyond that," Havixbeck told CBC News.

"It's one tool in trying to address a really huge problem in our city."

The Air-1 helicopter is arelatively recent additionto the Winnipeg Police Service, having been operating for just over a year. But police have confirmed that Air-1 has logged over half of the airtime it is supposed to fly so far this year.

Police officials say staffing and routine maintenance issues have kept Air-1 aloft for an average of 40 hours a month instead of 80 in the first three months of 2012.

Report promised

Havixbeck said she wants to see an annual report about Air-1's progress that had been promised to councillors.

"At the end of the year, we were supposed to get [a report] through some mechanism at council, but that seems to have slipped through the cracks because we never did get it," she said.

"So I want to go back and see what was Year 1 reporting, and how does that even compare to other jurisdictions?"

One factor behind the number of hours Air-1 has logged so far this year is that the helicopter's current chief pilot is moving out of the province for family reasons. The job posting for a new chief pilot is being posted, according to police.

Under an agreement between the Winnipeg Police Service and the Manitoba government, Air-1 is supposed to log about 1,000 hours a year, which breaks down to an average of 80 hours a month.

The helicopter logged about 980 hours last year, which effectively fulfils the agreement, according to police officials.

Tory MLA calls for 2nd chopper

Police say Air-1 responded to a total of 1,780 calls last year and was involved in 127 incidents in which arrests were made.

Progressive Conservative justice critic Kelvin Goertzen says it's not a question of if Winnipeg should get a second police helicopter, but when.

Goertzen said Air-1 has proven its value as a crime-fighting tool in the city, so the next step is to get another aircraft.

"I know there were a lot of skeptics, and sometimes the skeptics have to be shown. But I think they have been shown," he said.

"So now the next logical question is whether or not it's time for another one, so that we can get even more bang for the helicopter buck and get more criminals off the street."

But Havixbeck said she has not heard anyone talking about acquiring a second police helicopter.