With 14 AS350 B2s already in its fleet, the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) order of an additional AS350 B2 serves as incontestable proof that the Ecureuil/AStar family continues to fit the bill in the City of Angels.

At the end of last year, the LAPD renewed its commitment to Eurocopter helicopters by ordering a 15th AS350 B2 from American Eurocopter for its Air Suppor t Division (ASD) ; its delivery is scheduled for April 2009. LAPD’s ASD, which star ted out with a single helicopter in 1956, now runs the largest municipal airborne law enforcement operation in the world. Its current f leet includes 14 AS350 B2s, five Bell 206 Jet Rangers and one King Air 200 airplane.
LAPD’s 10,000-strong pol ice force maintains law and order for the 3.8 million residents of a city that stretches over 468 square miles and includes an arid, deser t climate, the Pacif ic Ocean shoreline and mountainous terrain. As Captain James Miller, Commanding Of ficer of the ASD points out, “We’re working with a relatively small number of of ficers. When you compare L.A. to New York City, which has twice the amount of residents, yet four times as many of ficers, you can understand why we turn to helicopters to enhance our ability to provide law enforcement.” LAPD’s aircraf t must be in the air at all times to provide backup suppor t to the city’s patrol of f icers. Their f leet, which per forms high-altitude surveillance missions and provides transpor t for SWAT inser tions and other special LAPD units, logs between 17,000 and 20,000 flight hours annually.

Proven Effectiveness
And their dent on crime is well documented: according to a study(1) on the effect of airborne law enforcement on crime and criminal activity, the number of arrests associated with radio calls tripled when the LAPD aircrews were involved. In addition, the number of part one property crimes(2) dropped when helicopters were overhead to assist ground officers. In 2008, the ASD responded to some 45,903 calls for service, which included roughly 227 vehicle pursuits, 946 foot pursuits, and 7,233 perimeters, resulting in up to 5,049 felony arrests and 1,863 recovered vehicles.
The LAPD relies on the AS350’s performance, reliability and multimission flexibility to protect and serve the city’s residents. “Given the demands we put on our aircraft, we favor the AS350, in particular because it provides better lifting capabilities compared to the Bell Jet Ranger. The AS350 is a more suitable platform and a move up for us in that regard,” explains Captain Miller. The AS350 family has become the standard for a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the nation: it is used by 75 US agencies, including major federal operators such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).