HC Deb 19 December 1969 vol 793 c453W
Mr. Eldon Griffiths

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the results of the Research and Development Branch's experiments into the use of helicopters for police work; if he will publish the reports made thereon; and what steps he proposes to bring helicopters into general use for traffic surveillance and searches for suspects and missing persons.

Mr. Elystan Morgan

The experiments suggest that helicopters could be of help to the police, but that their value would be likely to be greater in searches for suspects and missing persons than for routine traffic surveillance. It is not the practice to place on sale reports of police research but the findings of the experiments have been made available to police forces.

Further studies are at present being undertaken of the economics of using helicopters for police work, and a decision whether to embark on more extensive operational trials will be taken in the light of these studies.