After more than two years since the Ontario government announced plans to purchase helicopters for regional patrols, Peel Regional Police is the first service to have a helicopter operational as part of the joint air support unit project.
During a press event at a facility in Caledon on Wednesday, officials showcased the new Airbus H-125 helicopter, which was manufactured in Ontario. Officers are set to start using it for patrols across Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon later this week.
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah stated that the helicopter can fly for four hours straight and reach Lake Ontario from south Caledon in just six minutes.
“You can think about what it does to offset an officer in a vehicle, in a cruiser. So to provide context to the value is that it’s getting us to places we couldn’t have got to before,” he said.
“There’s some elements behind this that provide us an ability to turn the dial down on some of the pressures that people are exploiting here in the GTA.”
The air support unit of Peel now has around 20 pilots, officers, engineers, and technicians responsible for flying and maintaining both the helicopter and the service’s fleet of drones.
Duraiappah mentioned that they will publish an annual report detailing how the helicopter is utilized.
As originally outlined in the 2024 Ontario budget, this chopper will be one of five assigned to police services within Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa. Officials indicated that establishing this network along with its necessary infrastructure will cost $134 million. A year later, additional funding of $57 million was allocated by the Ford government to expand coverage into Windsor and Niagara regions.
Before Peel’s helicopter went into operation, only York Regional Police and Durham Regional Police had municipal helicopters available within GTA.
Officials highlighted that these new helicopters come equipped with advanced surveillance technology including cameras capable of thermal imaging.
The helicopters are expected to assist with various tasks such as urgent responses to incidents, tracking stolen vehicles, aiding traffic enforcement efforts, coordinating emergency responses, monitoring suspects, and supporting ongoing investigations.
The Peel Regional Police helicopter is seen at an airport hangar in Caledon, Ontario. CITYNEWS Keep it Factual
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