Regina police seeing major success with new plane

The Regina Police Service’s new plane has been in the air for two months and already the RPS is seeing its investment pay off.

The plane purchased in September is a 2005 Cessna 182T and was sold to the RPS at a cost of $400,000 US.

Before taking off, the plane had to be retrofitted to serve the police force, with the main feature being a new camera to help locate suspects or missing people from an aerial point of view.

(Shane Clausing/980 CJME)

Cpl. Steve Wyatt is one of two pilots who flies the plane and suggests he has already seen it make a big difference when it comes to dealing with cases ground units might not be able to help out with.

“It’s been incredible just to see the success we’re having on the ground, even locating one missing person, holding that suspect accountable who stole a car (or) getting the stolen vehicle back to the rightful owner undamaged. All of these things are very positive for the community,” Wyatt said Thursday.

The RPS says that between Jan. 20 and March 20, the plane has helped assist on nearly 500 files.

It has led to police making 97 arrests, laying 127 charges, executing 34 warrants and recovering 14 vehicles and has saved ground units 41 trips.

While in operation, Wyatt says the plane travels at a wide range of altitudes to help locate suspects.

“It does fluctuate. We fly typically around 2,100 feet above ground level typically for patrol operations,” Wyatt explained. “We do that to try and mitigate the noise on the ground. We find it’s a good altitude for working with a camera.”

While some will ask why the RPS opted for a plane as opposed to a helicopter or a drone, Wyatt notes it helps for the type of work police try to execute.

“Drones serve a very great purpose. In policing and public safety there is a place for them. In my opinion, patrol operations aren’t one of them because of their line of sight. If a car is going 200 (kilometres per hour), that’s going to be fairly difficult for them to catch up,” he explained.

“In terms of helicopters, they’re much more expensive to purchase up front (and) they’re 10 times more expensive to operate. We fly this aircraft for $150 an hour; typically a helicopter is $1,500,” Wyatt added. “Typically a helicopter flies lower, is much louder than a fixed-wing aircraft and in an aircraft we can typically fly higher and faster. There are much more advantages.”

The plane is operated by two pilots and four tactical flight officers.