911:: Helicopters

[Guest guest]

Michele's comment about Tony being in a helicopter reminded me of a

question I have meant to ask for some time now. I was wondering if any other

agency out there utilizes communications personnel to assist helicopters during

searches.

In our area, the comm staff knows the lay of the land as well as, if not

better than, most of the field personnel. Coupled with the fact that it is

easier (and cheaper, pay wise) to get off duty comm staff to report in to work

than it is law enforcement officers, we chose to use comm staff to ride with

helicopter crews when performing searches for missing or wanted subjects that

have fled into rough terrain such as woods or vast fields.

I personally have flown three times, one for a missing child in a

cornfield, one was an escaped prisoner in a marsh, and the last was a drowning

that we searched the meadow for. Not only does the comm personnel get a taste

of the outside world once in a while, but we also have been with the incident

from it's onset, and tend to have an outstanding working knowledge of what is

going on.

Anyone else?

J. Fred Ayars