Helihead Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 I have a two year degree with honors in Law Enforcement from a nationally accreditid college. I also have a fixed wing private license with about a 100 HR PIC, and plan on having my commercial Helicopter by the end of the summer... is any one hiring or would any agency hire a pilot with this little experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 I have a two year degree with honors in Law Enforcement from a nationally accreditid college. I also have a fixed wing private license with about a 100 HR PIC, and plan on having my commercial Helicopter by the end of the summer... is any one hiring or would any agency hire a pilot with this little experience? I'm new to these forums and after lurking for a couple of days, I thought I'd finally chime in with my opinion... Most law enforcement pilots are cops first and pilots second - meaning, you really must want to be a cop. To most agencies, being in the airwing is basically the same as being assigned to any other special unit (detectives, canine, motors, gang, etc.). When you are seeking a job, you apply as a police officer - your pilot qualifications are practically an afterthought. Once you get hired, you go to the police academy, get your commission, and then work the street for a few years. Be modest and don't advertise that you're a pilot (they'll find out anyways, but don't let them hear it from you) or else your co-workers might think you just want to fly and you're not really one of them - that they can't count on you in a situation. Work hard, be professional, live unimpeachably, and be the best police officer you can be - so perhaps when a pilot vacancy opens up in your agency, you will be considered for it (among the handful of other officers that have their pilots licenses). You might wait 2 years, you might wait 12 years - so you better enjoy being a cop. For the most part, only highly regarded officers are chosen for special assignments and by the time you are up for airwing consideration, it'll be too late to make a good impression. If you want to go this route, make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. If all you want to do is fly, look somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EAGLE1 Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I could not have said it better myself palmfish. Are you in law enforcement or were you able to glean that information from reading posts on this forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy 01 Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Hi, just an opinion from outside the U.S. In the UK and Australia most pilots aren't police officers, they are hired as pilots to fly the aircraft (In victoria[Aus] the helo+pilot are provided by CHC). The aircraft carry a crew of two or three and the observer is a police officer as he operates the cameras etc... which are evidence. So outside the US you can be an ALE pilot and not a police officer- BUT i think the minimum hours are about 1500 (as per ems/firefightng/offshore/etc..) Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 (edited) Eagle1 - Yes, I'm a sworn law enforcement pilot. Landy 01 - There are certainly exceptions to the rule here in the US (smaller agencies that contract air support through a civilian service provider), but for the agencies I know, they want their pilots to have street experience. Like all aviators, a law enforcement pilot's first priority is the safety of the aircrew - traffic avoidance, systems monitoring, airspace awareness, etc. However, a law enforcement pilot also has to be able to "think like a cop" in order to anticipate the needs of the ground units and the aerial observer. Yes, the pilot flies and the observer focuses on the ground, but both aircrew members must equally be able to understand and interpret everything that is occurring between the air and ground. Law enforcement operations are often very complex, fluid, and wide-ranging (several things going on simultaneously miles apart from each other). During an operation like this, the pilot must constantly ask him/herself, "what would I do next if I was down there..." or "what would I need to know about "X" if it was me on the ground..." But it's more than just understanding what's going on and anticipating the needs of ground units. The aircrew also serves as a security element. Both the pilot and observer have to be able to interpret sometimes subtle actions/events and recognize them as a potential threat to ground units and/or the general public. Often though, the observer is focused tightly on a single object (fleeing suspect, moving vehicle, a specific landmark, etc.) and the pilot is the only person who is seeing the whole scene. Only someone who has "walked the walk" will recognize seemingly innocuous and/or incongruous events for the threat might truly represent. I'm not saying that a non-officer can't do these things. I'm saying that it takes years to acquire a certain level of competence and experience, and there are many experiences that only come from working the street. A pilot who has worked the street brings this experience into the cockpit on Day One. One small subtle clue can mean the difference between life and death - and we have a few hairs on our necks that non-sworn pilots don't have. Edited May 12, 2007 by palmfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I could not have said it better myself palmfish. Are you in law enforcement or were you able to glean that information from reading posts on this forum? Do you fly out of KSNA - for Newport Beach (I did a Google search)? I was at Helistream for my annual touch-down auto training last March, and I'll be back in July for mountain training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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