Police to buy own helicopters in North

Helicopters are set to be bought by police in Northern Ireland in a new offensive against criminals and paramilitary violence, it emerged today.

A special team has been established to examine how many of the £3m (€4.7m) craft are needed.

Security sources claimed the move would speed up the demilitarisation process demanded by nationalists and bring the service into line with other UK forces.

One said: “Hopefully we won’t have to depend on Army helicopters any more if this goes ahead.

“Most forces have one and we are trying to get the best, most modern equipment.”

Chief Constable Hugh Orde will have to approve the plans before they are submitted to his Policing Board and the Northern Ireland Office for funding.

Helicopters could be deployed in several key policing areas, including hunting down suspects and missing persons, chasing cars and monitoring riots.

Police believe traffic management, scenes of crime photography and casualty evacuation would also benefit from their introduction.

A projects team led by the Operations Department at the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Belfast headquarters has already drawn up specifications.

They are examining three Home Office-approved helicopters best meets PSNI needs.

Models by the Franco-German consortium Eurocopter, US giant Boeing McDonnell-Douglas and the Italian manufacturer Augusta are in the running.

All have seating for a pilot and two observers and are fitted with cameras, infra-red equipment, searchlights and public address and radio systems.

The PSNI already uses a fixed-wing Islander aeroplane for covert surveillance.

But senior management claims the helicopters would provide a major boost to officer safety by taking them out of car pursuits or searching for suspects on roof-tops.

The purchase has also been seen as taking a step closer to fully implementing the blueprint for police reform in Northern Ireland.

Reducing the PSNI’s reliance on Army helicopters would satisfy the recommendation in the Patten proposals that police should patrol all areas without military support.

It has been estimated that a helicopter would cost £3m (€4.7m) to buy and around £700,000 (€1m) a year to run.

But one well-placed PSNI source insisted Mr Orde was prepared to spend whatever it took to complete a major overhaul.

When he arrived in Belfast as Ronnie Flanagan’s successor in September, the new chief constable claimed the service’s computer network was not up to scratch.

At least £10m (€15.6m) has now been earmarked for IT upgrades which will see 6,500 new terminals installed in stations across Northern Ireland.

Eight water canon to quell sectarian street violence and state-of-the-art semi-automatic Glock pistols for all officers have also been ordered.

“This is what the new boss wants to do,” the source said.

“We are spending the money it takes to get the equipment we need.”