Police looking for approval, funding to buy new $360-K camera for helicopter

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This article was published 10/02/2016 (3852 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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The police helicopter needs a new infrared-light camera to stay in the air, the Winnipeg Police Service said Wednesday.

The police service has asked the city’s finance committee for approval to purchase a new Forward-Looking Infrared camera, planning to pay $180,000 from the police budget if the province agrees to match those funds for a total cost of $360,000.

Patrol Sgt. Rob Duttchen, of the flight operations unit, said the police service has already spent more than $20,000 on repairs to the camera over the past five years and at one time was using a camera on loan from the Edmonton Police Service to allow the chopper to remain in the air. Budget discussions are ongoing with the province, Duttchen said.

“The reality is that the system we have deployed on the aircraft now is coming to the end of its life cycle,” he said, noting the camera endures more wear and tear due to the helicopter’s high-frequency vibrations and its replacement is now “critical.”

“There comes a point where it’s less responsible to continue to repair something than to replace it,” Duttchen said.

The police service first asked for a new camera in January 2015, before the provincial government announced an independent review of the helicopter earlier this year, Duttchen said. The independent audit was set to take place over the course of this year, Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh previously told the Free Press, and was requested to ensure Winnipeggers are “getting a good bang for their buck,” from the chopper.

“We believe the (flight operations) program has value for the money, but we would never presuppose the outcome of the review,” Duttchen said.

“The reality is that the helicopter is worth more with an operational camera on it in the same way that selling your car is worth more with a good transmission and a safety certificate.”

Duttchen played infrared video footage from the helicopter for reporters at the Public Safety Building Wednesday afternoon, showing a water rescue and a canine unit search and emphasizing both the necessity of the camera to the helicopter and the necessity of the helicopter to the police service. The thermal-imaging camera allows helicopter pilots to distinguish people and animals from the air by detecting heat. When the chopper flies over someone who needs to be rescued, for example, it can direct crews on the ground, warn them of potential dangers visible from overhead and shine a spotlight so they can see.

The police service doesn’t fly the helicopter unless the camera is working; maintenance is one of the top reasons the chopper has been grounded in the past, according to the flight operations unit’s most recent report.

Police board chairman Coun. Scott Gillingham said the police service gave the board advance notice of its proposal to the finance committee, since board rules dictate the board must approve WPS purchases worth more than $100,000. That rule came into effect after the police service’s decision to buy a $343,000 armoured vehicle took the board by surprise in December.

“The armoured car acquistion identified some gaps, and… since then we have identified that anything over the threshold of $100,000 should come before the board. That’s the change we made, and so this is over $100,000,” Gillingham said.

“The board appreciates that the service has come forward and made us aware that they need this equipment,” he added.

The proposal will go before the city’s finance committee on Friday and it will make its decision.

The $3.5-million helicopter was purchased in late 2010 and the province has been paying its operational costs since it went into service the following year. The chopper cost $1.7 million to operate in 2014 and lost 154 flight hours that year because of inclement weather, maintenance and staffing issues.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca