'Strong value': Regina police to officially launch Aerial Support Unit
The Regina Police Service (RPS) will be officially launching their Aerial Support Unit on Thursday morning.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, RPS Chief Evan Bray said their police plane has already proven to have a positive impact on public and officer safety in the community.
“I can tell you that number one, it has sped up the time it takes us to investigate and make an arrest, absolutely has reduced the amount of force that we use, exponentially, in three months. It’s been outstanding,” he said.
RPS had purchased the aircraft, a Cessna 182, in September, which began patrolling over the city by the end of October.
The launch will be held at 10 a.m. at the Kreos Aviation Hangar at 2550 Arrow Bay at the Regina International Airport.
“Deputy Chief Dean Ray will be leading the discussion at the launch on Thursday morning. He’s been our lead through this entire process, and so it’s been a big success for the citizens of Regina,” Bray said.
Bray said the plane has been very beneficial and community members are raving about the response times and the ability for RPS to hold people accountable.
“We’ve had people knocking on our doors from outside agencies, including recently talk with File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, looking at signing a bit of an MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] to help with potential search and rescue efforts that’ll be happening,” he said
“I think there’s going to be strong value for the air support unit.”
Benefits of the unit include the ability to track down suspects more quickly and discreetly.
“What happens is, the driving behaviour of the subject, when they’re not being followed by a police car with the lights on, they tend to slow down, they tend to drive more normally and most times, they go to a destination,” Bray said.
“We’ve been able to arrest high-risk offenders in the community getting a coffee in the Tim Hortons drive-thru because it’s casual, they don’t know that they’re necessarily about to be arrested by the police.”
The cost of the airplane and associated instruments was said to be about $1.2 million but much of the cost was covered by the provincial Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund and SGI.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.