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LAPD Police Claim Helicopters Stop Crimes Before They Happen
HughPickens.com writes True Angelenos don't even bother to look up when one of the LAPD's 17 helicopters rattles their windows searching for a car-jacked Camry or an assault suspect hiding under a jacaranda but few doubt that more bad guys would get away without the nation's largest police helicopter fleet to help chase them. Now the LA Times reports that data shows that LA's helicopters are stopping crimes before they happen. Tapping into the data-driven policing trend, the department uses heat maps, technology and years of statistics to identify crime "hot spots." Pilots then use their downtime to fly over them, on the theory that would-be criminals tend to rethink their nefarious plans when there's "ghetto birds," as Ice Cube calls them, hovering overhead [explanatory video with annoying sound]. Months of data show that the number of serious crimes reported in the LAPD's Newton Division in South L.A. fell during weeks when the helicopters conducted more flights. During the week of Sept. 13, when the helicopter unit flew over Newton 65 times, the division recorded 90 crimes. A week later, the number of flights dropped to 40 and the number of reported crimes skyrocketed to 136, with rises seen among almost all types of crime, including burglary, car theft and thefts from vehicles. "It's extremely cutting edge," says Capt. Gary Walters, who heads the LAPD's air support unit. "It's different. It's nothing that we've ever done before with this specificity."
But Professor Geoffrey Alpert. a policing expert who has studied the use of police helicopters in Miami and Baltimore, says the choppers can deter crime in the short-term but criminals will likely return when they're not around (PDF). "You are deterring the criminals but you aren't getting rid of them and their intent. Those criminals could strike in a different time and place," says Alpert. "I mean that's the whole thing about random patrol. You see a police car and it's the same thing. You hide, he goes around the block and you go back to your breaking and entering."
But Professor Geoffrey Alpert. a policing expert who has studied the use of police helicopters in Miami and Baltimore, says the choppers can deter crime in the short-term but criminals will likely return when they're not around (PDF). "You are deterring the criminals but you aren't getting rid of them and their intent. Those criminals could strike in a different time and place," says Alpert. "I mean that's the whole thing about random patrol. You see a police car and it's the same thing. You hide, he goes around the block and you go back to your breaking and entering."
The LAPD helicopters are annoying as hell, I freaking hate them. One of the problems is the LAPD buys military type helicopters that make a huge racket, when they could be using much smaller birds that are far quieter. Then they also fly super low, much lower than is necessary at most times. I live on top of a hill, and the g*d damn helicopters will fly directly over my house multiple times a night and perhaps no more than 300 feet above my roof, waking me and the entire neighborhood up. It totally sucks, and I do not believe for one second the helicopters deter crime whatsoever, that is completely irrational. Sure they might deter crime in that exact moment they are flying over, but do they really think the criminals are going, "Oooh, the helicopter flew over a while ago, I'm scared to commit a quick crime." Give me a break, that's total bullshit.
The only time we've had any peace is when an independent entity audited the flight records of the LAPD helicopter squad and found multiple instances of abuse, like flying politicos and their friends around on tours. I can bet the copter pilots also fly around pretty girls they are trying to impress and make other completely needless flights. It's ridiculous...
Did you ever wake up in the morning, with a Zombie Woof behind your eyes? -- FZ