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The Los Angeles Police Department’s air support division is the largest of its kind in the nation with 17 helicopters and over 90 employees.

However, in the first-ever audit of the LAPD helicopter program, the L.A. City Controller’s Office found that 61% of its flight time is spent on low-priority incidents, costing L.A. taxpayers nearly $50 million a year. 

“Some transportation and ceremonial flights were an inefficient and inappropriate use of city funds, including passenger shuttle flights for a “Chili Fly-In” and a flyby at a golf tournament,” said L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Mejia says his office spent nearly a year conducting the audit sifting through and finding information for the first time since the LAPD helicopter program started in the 1970s. 

“There is no persuasive empirical evidence that shows a clear link between helicopter patrols and crime reduction,” Mejia said.

According to the report, there is little oversight in the air support division which costs more than 14 other city departments. The neighborhoods where LAPD helicopters often fly over and patrol don’t necessarily have more crime, either. 

“We were expecting to find a tight relationship between allegations of crime, and where these helicopters are going,” said Sergio Perez, L.A. City Controller Chief of Oversight. “We didn’t find that relationship in certain neighborhoods including neighborhoods in South Los Angeles and in East Los Angeles.”

Also among their findings, they say LAPD’s air support division doesn’t follow best practices to avoid nuisance noise and often flies below the recommended distance from the ground. Pollution is also another concern in the audit.  

“You have to drive 19,000,000 miles in a car to get the kind of pollution that they produce through the helicopter program each year,” said Dinah Manning, L.A. City Controller Director of Public Safety.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a statement the air support division plays a critical role in public safety by arriving at scenes ahead of patrol units and providing critical information. He said air support also provided added patrols to detect and prevent crimes including residential burglaries while also responding to officer’s assistance calls involving violent and highly dangerous situations. 

The L.A. City Controller’s Office provided 14 recommendations in the audit that include updating the department’s performance metrics and goals.  

The full audit can be read here.