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ffite iusisi flffifimwmww police air one keeps an eye on york region in the by jennifer brown staff writer although hes often first on scene bringing with him the equivalent force of 15 cruisers const mark baggett never makes an arrest and rarely gets any credit still most york regional police officers want his job whirring high above yorks 1700 square kilometres along with pilot andrew dunt baggett isassigned to air one a joint- forces project to test the impact a helicopter could have on daytoday poiice work were the voice in the sky said baggett as we flew over southern york region earlier this week were the support service we can deliver tactical information in real time to the guys on the ground r police chief julian fantino believes the helicopter will provide better response in emergencies such as with missing children or seniors as well as enhancing traffic enforcement and assisting in police chases this summer police discovered the view from above alsqhelps them spot marijuana crops growing among area cornfields about 2million worth even when police arent out looking for drugs baggett says if they do spot a patch while on another call they cari record the location on a computerized positioning sys- tem and return later the bell 206 jet ranger equipped with an infrared camera and highpowered search lights can fly 190 kmh the average response time to a call is three minutes when patrolling a region that is a mix of urban areas rural fields and forests the abili ty to travel quickly and get close to a subject is paramount baggett said a threemonth report released last month showed me helicopter has assisted in 176 calls for york regional police the test pro gram is being shared with durham regional t the york helicopter callshave ranged from noise complaints torobberies but air ones biggest advantage may simply be its presence a recent survey of the region indicated that people wanted to see more of a police presence said baggett what more visibili ty can there be were more overt than covert air one was used when toronto police were looking for the scarborough bedroom rapist using the infrared and search lights baggett said they focused onthe park and ravine area the rapist was using to sneak in and out of the neighbourhood he was hitting sometimes twice a week but after the night we started flying he never struck agam thats a pretty good deter- staff photorob a1ary york regional police const mark baggett and pilot andrew dunt at buttonville airport rence said baggett who was also on scene when a suspect was arrested i have kids and i know i want york region to have a helicopter he added others arent so sure last month union president dave kingston questioned whether the money spent on the helicopter would be better spent on hiring more offi cers always a judgment call although the helicopter has been used in more than two dozen missing persons cases kingston pointed out it hadnt actually found anyone nor has it prevented a police chase or captured a fleemg criminal but baggett argues thats missing the point in missing person cases it would take days of man hours for guys on the ground to form a line and search the fields houses and doughnut shops we can search the ground in a much shorter time its the multiplying concept its as if there are another 15 patrol cars on the scene he said and at night is especially dramatic when on patrol baggett and dunt oper ate much like officers on the ground youve got your ear on the radio and its always a judgment call sometimesit all comes at once obviously a missing person takes priority but we have to be where we are most effective priorities are occasionally dictated from the upper ranks especially when emergen- cies occur in other jurisdictions when they arent busy elsewhere the helicopter will go on deterrence iruns swooping over industrial areas to help pre vent latenight breakiris baggett is convinced the deterrence runs are working the stats are preliminary but i can say with confidence that it has had an effect in the westend of the region he said but he is careful to stress helicopters dont replace ground units cruisers on the ground can now have this vantage point too he explained as we swooped down over an industrial complex in markham we can pass along information in real time to the units on the ground about what were seeing but it doesnt replace the ground support at all the helicopters patrol schedule is 4 pm to 4 am monday to saturday but baggett said thatis rarely the norm his life has been ruled by his pager for the past five months we can be called out at 10 am and then we bomb in here and go out searching although baggett is a qualified helicopter pilot he leaves the flying to dunt a typical 12hour shift involves flying six to eight hours on and off depending on the calls theyreceive the helicopter can stay in the air for between 312 to four hours at a time but that isnt often a necessity on monday air one was called to help metro police search a park in toronto look ing for a missing person with alzheimers disease later the unit was called to aurora to assist with a traffic call in which a car fled from an officer with the infrared technology baggett points out its difficult to hide from the heli copter he can even spot suspects hiding under bushes and other coyer investigating officers will often tell us that fleeing suspects felt they had to hide because of the helicopter he said the helicopter can also be used to leap frog over fleeing suspects dropping officers and canine teams in front of them to cut off their escape routes we can drop guys off at the cutoff so theres a fresh team in or if its an emer gency where no one elsecan get tohe said fiyboys 77ese cas are among those answered by the air support unit during week of june 28 to july 4 and sept 6 to 12 june 29 four calls theft reported in richmond hill response time seven minutes three males fled from the scene after attempting to steal tires arid rirris from a vehicle air one provided containment and search of the area with a searchlight canine unit arrived and searched ground area contained by air one all three parties were found and arrested by ground units sept 9 seven calls air one observed two vehicles travelling at high speed eastbound on hwy 407 at hwy 404 and directed ground units on side streets near denisori street and mccowan road to stop the second vehicle as it attempted to avoid detec- v tion numerous highway traffic act charges were aid- air one spotted vehicle driving erratically at jane street and rutherford road in vaughanthe vehp cle was checked by ground units and a 12hour suspension issued robbery at tim hbrtons in maikham response time lessthan one minute the area was searched but the suspects were gone sept 10 eight calls j missing person at canadas wonderland in vaughan air one responded in less than one minute individual was still missing air one searched area with negative results large disturbance reported at a banquet hall in markham response time three minutes air sup- port provided top cover and lit area with a searchligjitto disperse a crowd sept 11 10 calls driving complaint response time two minutes assisted markham ground unit officers in loca tion of drag racers at warden and 19th avenues ahah hwy 7 unibnville east of kennedy 9054775524 m