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https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/audit-says-lapds-use-of-helicopters-causes-significant-harm-to-the-community/ https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/au

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/audit-says-lapds-use-of-helicopters-causes-significant-harm-to-the-community/ https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/audit-says-lapds-use... On average, the city spent an average of $46.6 million on the program, the audit disclosed. It also found that there is limited oversight or monitoring of the division, its policies and practices and whether the program is in line with the city's safety needs. [...] The department has 17 helicopters and over 90 employees. [..] The city operates their helicopter fleet on a nearly "continuous basis" [..] The total translates to more than $2,900 per flight hour. [...] Additional findings in the audit disclosed [..] 61% of the flight time was in fact dedicated to low-priority incidents like transportation, general patrols and ceremonial flights — like a fly-by at a local golf tournament, roundtrip transportation of high-ranking LAPD officers between stations and passenger shuttle flights for a "Chili Fly-In."

throwaway5465 1y ago
$5 per person per year then. Or, the price of a can of coke per person per month. Much of which flows directly back into the local economy through wages spent and maintnance paid.
- fn-mote 1y ago
  You know this is ridiculous, which is why you posted with a throwaway. Obvious excessive spending should not be shrugged off by dividing the expense by the population of the area. Obvious excessive costs need to be reined in. Tax money needs to be spent on the highest priorities, which this is not.
  - throwaway5465 1y ago
    Some of us always post throwaway.
    - unethical_ban 1y ago
      In an AI bot and troll infested world, expect quippy contrarian opinions posted with throwaways to be taken less seriously.
      - vee-kay 1y ago
        Every message on social media is a throwaway, unless if it has some tangible memorable impact on life.
        unethical_ban 1y ago
        I disagree. Accounts with a post history, sleep consistency and decency in their content and particularly older pre AI accounts can at least be trusted as human and well meaning.
        vee-kay 1y ago
        I humbly disagree. Humans have inherent bias, and politics and ideologies skew their behavior, even if they themselves mistakenly think it is well intentioned when it really is not. Social media and news media, in general, are controlled and dominated by Leftists. And that inherent bias and prejudiced ideology is very evident on social media posts, news articles and Wiki articles, especially about my country and culture. And it's because humans are being taught (and some of them are taught or indoctrinated to perpetuate) skewed and ideology driven versions of history and (mis)information for centuries.
        unethical_ban 1y ago
        We are talking about different things. I am discussing the legitimacy of content from accounts that are new, and/or post low-effort contrarian content which is a signature form of trolling. I'm also talking about the ease of script kiddies all the way up to nations using AI to more intelligently troll as bots with endless questions and logical fallacies when talking about current events. In other words, literally the difference between bots/trolls and people looking for real dialogue. You seem to be concerned with left-wing bias in forums.
- tbrownaw 1y ago
  Since when does a can of soda cost less than 50¢?
- 0xbadcafebee 1y ago
  That 46 million could be spent on education, transportation, aid for low-income families, the homeless, jobs programs, small business tax breaks, infrastructure renewal, public works, etc. According to the report, not only are they largely not used for anything productive, there's potential harms to both people and the environment. And as many have pointed out, the same work can be done with drones.
  - mike_d 1y ago
    The report is wrong. If you bother to watch LA news you'll see they are used a few times a night to track vehicles from the air. This frees up ground units and avoids high speed chases which saves lives. It's fun to call this a waste of taxpayer dollars until you watch a carjacked vehicle recovered with kids inside.
    - free_bip 1y ago
      Do you really need 17 helicopters and 90 employees for the occasional car chase? This feels wildly over the top. They could do that just fine with one third the resources.
      - 0xbadcafebee 1y ago
        On top of that, police car chases are wildly harmful and usually started from things like minor traffic violations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVFXUkFx5Y8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVFXUkFx5Y8
        mike_d 1y ago
        Helicopters avoid car chases by allowing them to follow the car until it gets to a destination or runs out of gas. Even if they "usually" start from a minor traffic violation (which they do not), the majority of individuals who run have outstanding felony warrants or are engaged in committing another crime.
        1y ago
tclancy 1y ago
Hang on, LAPD with limited oversight? Someone bring back Daryl Gates! Man the Ramparts!

throwaway5465 1y ago

$5 per person per year then. Or, the price of a can of coke per person per month. Much of which flows directly back into the local economy through wages spent and maintnance paid.

fn-mote 1y ago
You know this is ridiculous, which is why you posted with a throwaway. Obvious excessive spending should not be shrugged off by dividing the expense by the population of the area. Obvious excessive costs need to be reined in. Tax money needs to be spent on the highest priorities, which this is not.
- throwaway5465 1y ago
  Some of us always post throwaway.
  - unethical_ban 1y ago
    In an AI bot and troll infested world, expect quippy contrarian opinions posted with throwaways to be taken less seriously.
    - vee-kay 1y ago
      Every message on social media is a throwaway, unless if it has some tangible memorable impact on life.
      - unethical_ban 1y ago
        I disagree. Accounts with a post history, sleep consistency and decency in their content and particularly older pre AI accounts can at least be trusted as human and well meaning.
        vee-kay 1y ago
        I humbly disagree. Humans have inherent bias, and politics and ideologies skew their behavior, even if they themselves mistakenly think it is well intentioned when it really is not. Social media and news media, in general, are controlled and dominated by Leftists. And that inherent bias and prejudiced ideology is very evident on social media posts, news articles and Wiki articles, especially about my country and culture. And it's because humans are being taught (and some of them are taught or indoctrinated to perpetuate) skewed and ideology driven versions of history and (mis)information for centuries.
        unethical_ban 1y ago
        We are talking about different things. I am discussing the legitimacy of content from accounts that are new, and/or post low-effort contrarian content which is a signature form of trolling. I'm also talking about the ease of script kiddies all the way up to nations using AI to more intelligently troll as bots with endless questions and logical fallacies when talking about current events. In other words, literally the difference between bots/trolls and people looking for real dialogue. You seem to be concerned with left-wing bias in forums.
tbrownaw 1y ago
Since when does a can of soda cost less than 50¢?
0xbadcafebee 1y ago
That 46 million could be spent on education, transportation, aid for low-income families, the homeless, jobs programs, small business tax breaks, infrastructure renewal, public works, etc. According to the report, not only are they largely not used for anything productive, there's potential harms to both people and the environment. And as many have pointed out, the same work can be done with drones.
- mike_d 1y ago
  The report is wrong. If you bother to watch LA news you'll see they are used a few times a night to track vehicles from the air. This frees up ground units and avoids high speed chases which saves lives. It's fun to call this a waste of taxpayer dollars until you watch a carjacked vehicle recovered with kids inside.
  - free_bip 1y ago
    Do you really need 17 helicopters and 90 employees for the occasional car chase? This feels wildly over the top. They could do that just fine with one third the resources.
    - 0xbadcafebee 1y ago
      On top of that, police car chases are wildly harmful and usually started from things like minor traffic violations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVFXUkFx5Y8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVFXUkFx5Y8
      - mike_d 1y ago
        Helicopters avoid car chases by allowing them to follow the car until it gets to a destination or runs out of gas. Even if they "usually" start from a minor traffic violation (which they do not), the majority of individuals who run have outstanding felony warrants or are engaged in committing another crime.
        1y ago

tclancy 1y ago

Hang on, LAPD with limited oversight? Someone bring back Daryl Gates! Man the Ramparts!