National agency England and Wales | ||
 | ||
Legal personality Non government: Police unit General nature Law enforcement
Civilian police Headquarters West Yorkshire Police Operations Centre, Wakefield, England. | ||
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police aviation service that provides centralised air support to the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. It replaced the previous structure whereby police forces operated their own helicopters, either individually or in small consortia (such as the South East Air Support Unit). The project was coordinated by Alex Marshall (the then Chief Constable of Hampshire Police). West Yorkshire Police is the lead Force and the service is operated from West Yorkshire Police Despatch & Flight Monitoring Centre (D&FMC) based at Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Contents
Rollout
NPAS became operational on 1 October 2012, and was rolled out across England and Wales in stages. The service provides 19 helicopters, operating from 17 bases.
The National Police Air Service has suggested that the Police Scotland Air Support Unit join the service to reduce costs. Police Scotland currently has access to a Eurocopter EC135, on loan from NPAS, after its helicopter crashed due to engine failure.
Base closures
In February 2015 it was announced that, due to a 14% cut in revenue over the next three years, the NPAS would be closing ten bases over two years. As fixed wing aircraft are cheaper to fly, four helicopters will be replaced by aeroplanes. A new fixed wing base is planned for Doncaster Sheffield Airport.