A POLICE helicopter has been sent out to fewer emergencies in Dyfed-Powys since cuts were introduced to the National Police Air Service, according to an official report.
The report, by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, has revealed that since the cuts at the beginning of 2016 police helicopters are taking almost an hour on average to reach incidents in the Dyfed-Powys Police force area - the second slowest response in the UK.
Since January 2016 Dyfed-Powys Police have called in air support from the NPAS service helicopters based in St Athan and Flintshire.
In the last year the force paid £891,000 for 349 hours of air support, the equivalent of £2,553 for every hour of air cover.
The only area with a slower air cover response time than Dyfed-Powys is Cumbria in England.
The HMICFRS report said that across England and Wales the centralised air support service, which replaced separate force helicopters in 2012, was failing to get to thousands of incidents until after the emergency was over.
However Dyfed-Powys’ Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn insisted the NPAS was "a valuable asset", which provided 24/7 air cover for the area. He also hailed the cost savings of the new arrangement which he said had resulted from new criteria to assess whether air support at an incident was necessary.
Mr Llywelyn said: “The HMICFRS report on the provision of police air support clearly demonstrates that Dyfed-Powys Police has benefited financially from the efficiencies of being a partner in this national service. There is a reduction in the cost of police air support available across the Dyfed-Powys Police area alongside the ability to access a 24/7 service, a capability not available to us prior to the new arrangements. It is important to note that the deployment of resources is now consistently based on an agreed threat, risk and harm assessment. As a result of this new assessment criteria the use of the helicopter has reduced within the Dyfed-Powys area.
"As an NPAS strategic board member I ensure that rural police forces such as Dyfed-Powys are not forgotten and during my time on the board we have seen significant financial savings being realised for Dyfed-Powys Police.”
A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: “Dyfed-Powys Police is provided with an air support service from NPAS as part of the national collaboration, before which we had our own helicopter which was undoubtedly a more limited capability.
"The effectiveness of the service now provided by NPAS is regularly reviewed by senior leaders from Dyfed-Powys Police in conjunction with representatives from NPAS and the outcomes from these reviews are used to influence the service provided by NPAS.
"This is a valuable operational resource for us as a rural area, and we will continue to work with NPAS colleagues to get the best service for our communities using this valuable asset when circumstances are appropriate, and this will include seeking greater coverage from future developments.”