Auditing the LAPD's eyes in the city sky

The basics of Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia's recent audit of LAPD helicopter usage are nothing new.

Since Southland law enforcement began flying frequent helicopter patrols — as opposed to only using them in emergencies — in the early 1970s, some Angelenos have been voicing their outrage over the stunningly loud aerial intrusions they cause above our neighborhoods, the creepy feeling we get from constant eye-in-the-sky spying and the high cost of maintaining and fueling the aircraft.

In fact, it sometimes seems it's only the actual cops in the copters who support what LAPD brass blandly term their Air Support Division.

Still, it's always good for citizens to get another look at what their tax dollars are buying, and Mejia's new report keys in on an important problem: When LAPD copters are in the air, less than half the time it's because of what are deemed “high priority” crimes.

The rest of the time, they're on routine patrol, are heading to non-priority 911 calls, are enlisted for ceremonial fly-bys and pick up government VIPs for trips that bypass surfacestreet traffic.

All to the tune of almost $3,000 an hour, which adds up to about $50 million a year.

Look, we're not going to be Luddites or merely cranky critics about copter noise and cost. Police helicopters can be incredibly nimble crimefighting tools, spotlighting bad guys from above in ways that ground patrols cannot. When an officer or a civilian is down, they can literally save lives.

Plus, we're used to them. As the controller's office's director of public safety said in presenting the audit, growing up here, “I went to sleep with helicopters, I woke up to helicopters, helicopters were a part of my daily experience.”

The LAPD says it needs some time to read and then respond to the report. But this is already shaping up to be a point of friction in local government. Chief Michel Moore says he is “disappointed by the characterizations” made by the city controller's office. The controller's office says the LAPD “was not a good-faith partner” during the audit.

One change we hope to see: Less time spent merely patrolling at the pilots' discretion, waiting for incidents. That's about a third of the hours these birds are in the air. Public safety money can certainly be better spent elsewhere.