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Eyes in the skies
Page 58
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• There may be comparatively few cases in which a helicopter can be used effectively to track down a stolen vehicle. The mere possibility, however, should be a considerable deterrent to the hi-jacker who can never be entirely certain that a helicopter passing overhead is not observing his movements and reporting them to the police.
This is the basic philosophy behind the introduction of helicopters into the vehicle observer corps system which has now been operating for seven years.
A demonstration last week at the. headquarters of the Hertfordshire Constabulary in Welwyn Garden City showed how helicopters can be used as "eyes in the skies" to provide a third dimension to the VOC network. A van supplied by Atlas Express Ltd. with a distinctive marking on the top incorporating the vehicle fleet number 132, was assumed to be carrying a stolen load along Al. helicopter was soon able to find and identify the vehicle and to pass back information on the place and the direction in which it was travelling. On receiving this information a police radio car was rapidly directed to intercept it.
The experiment was successful enough for Point to Point Helicopters and one or two associated companies to agree to join the VOC network on a voluntary basis. The hope is that the idea will catch on with time and that organizations all over the country with helicopters will agree to take part.
There is no intention of feeding the helicopters with information indiscriminately. Only stolen lorries with a valuable load—a minimum of £20,000 has been adopted at the beginning—will be reported to helicopter VOC members. The operators of vehicles regularly carrying valuable loads or likely to carry them will be encouraged to display on the top their own distinctive symbol, and a register of the vehicles and the symbols will be maintained at a central point.
There are obvious limitations to the scheme. The really up-to-date lorry thief may now take to carrying a paint spray.
As has been pointed out by Mr-Jack Brown, chairman, vehicle security committee, Road Haulage Association, the need to overcome yet another obstacle to a clean get-away imposes yet one more burden calculated to discourage all but the most determined criminal. Even if the almost theological implications of the slogan "eyes in the skies" fail to terrify the underworld there can in future be no lorry thief who counts himself perfectly safe while a helicopter is droning overhead.