Could the Winnipeg Police Service replace its helicopter with a fleet of drones one day?
It’s a debate that’s been raging for years within police departments and municipal governments across North America. It’s also one of the reasons Winnipeg city council just approved a lease agreement for the WPS’s next chopper, rather than buying a new aircraft outright.
Winnipeg’s existing police helicopter, purchased for $3.5 million in 2010, is owned by the WPS.
A quadcopter drone (Supplied)
“The police helicopter is a vital tool in the delivery of public safety in our police service and many other police services,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Thursday, after council approved a $13.5-million lease agreement over 15 years. “I would (like) us, ultimately, to see if we can go to the utilization of drones in the future… (But) I don’t think we’re there yet.”
We’re not. But we may be one day as drones take on an increasingly important role for police services worldwide.
Police helicopters are expensive. It’s not just the ticket price of the aircraft itself (around $8 million for a fully equipped chopper, which includes GPS mapping, infrared cameras, a high-powered spotlight and audio equipment), or the fuel and maintenance costs. It also includes the cost of pilots and police officers who accompany them in the aircraft.
Winnipeg’s police helicopter cost about $2 million to operate in 2023.
Is it worth the money? If you consider the hundreds of crime events the helicopter is involved in every year, the ability to reduce high-speed chases of fleeing motorists, the quick and efficient way it can locate crime suspects (leading to arrests) as well as finding missing persons (including at night using the chopper’s infrared camera), over long distances, it certainly is.
How do you put a dollar value on that? The same way you try to put a dollar figure on maintaining a K-9 unit, special investigative teams, river patrols, or hiring more cops in cars. It’s not a straightforward calculation that can yield a definitive number.
What is important is that police demonstrate effectiveness in the tools and personnel they use to respond to emergency calls, investigate crimes and help keep communities safe. Police helicopters help do that, which is why they’re used in large centres around the world.
But what about drones, which are far less expensive to purchase and operate than helicopters? Could police not use those instead?
They already do in some cases. But drones still have limitations, not the least of which is they can’t patrol over long distances — or for as long — as police helicopters.
There are also federal restrictions in how drones can be used, including line-of-sight requirements, where operators on the ground must be able to see the drones they are flying.
Police helicopters can travel long distances at high speeds across the city and patrol for hours at a time. Drones are limited in their ability to do so.
But that is changing with advancements in technology and regulations. Transport Canada is beginning to loosen restrictions regarding line-of-sight requirements, which may allow police services to fly drones over longer distances in the not-too-distant future.
That is one of the reasons city council chose a lease agreement.
It gives the city the ability to opt out of the lease if regulatory changes and advancements in drone technology allow for a wholesale switch from chopper to drones.
Granted, it’s still a tough sell for the public. Many people don’t understand the full benefits of aerial support (whether it’s helicopters or drones). Some still see them as an annoyance, an invasion of privacy, a “toy,” and a waste of money. Better to have more boots on the ground than a chopper flying around at night, some argue.
Others maintain the money would be better spent addressing the root causes of crime, like fighting poverty, mental health and addictions. Maybe, but big cities still need an effective police force. They can do both.
Policing is expensive, no matter how you slice it. Cop salaries and benefits cost money and the tools they use are not cheap — whether it’s fully equipped police cars, armoured vehicles, K-9 units, weapons, or aerial surveillance equipment.
If society wants an effective and efficient police service to respond to emergency calls and to help keep communities safe — especially in a city like Winnipeg, which has some of the highest violent crime rates in the country — it has to be willing to pay for it.
Aerial surveillance is an important tool in the toolbox to help police do that.
tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
Tom Brodbeck
Columnist
Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom.
Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press’s editing team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press’s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.