LAPD Helicopter Audit Out Now

Los Angeles Controller Kenneth Mejia’s Dec. 11 office released an audit of the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) airborne operation, the Air Support Division or ASD, or helicopter program.

The audit was launched in response to calls from community members and organizations who requested more information regarding the costs and performance of LAPD helicopters. The audit focused on the LAPD’s use of helicopters from fiscal years 2018-2022 and explored whether the LAPD has justified the need for the program’s current size and scope, which consists of 17 helicopters and more than 90 employees.

Despite spending an average of $46.6 million every year on the helicopter program, there is limited external oversight or monitoring of the program, its policies, practices, or whether the program, which was officially established in the 1970s, is in line with the city’s present-day needs. Since LAPD first began using helicopters in 1956, its fleet has expanded from 1 helicopter to 17. With no comprehensive, external audit of the helicopter program until now, inefficiencies, data reliability issues, and lack of transparency and performance monitoring have gone unchecked.

Unlike most jurisdictions, the city operates its helicopter fleet on an almost continuous basis. Typically, there are two helicopters flying for 20 hours every day of the year. The helicopters logged an average of 16,000 hours of flight time each year at a cost of $2,916 per flight hour.

The audit’s findings strongly suggest that the LAPD’s current use of helicopters causes significant harm to the community without meaningful or reliable assessment of the benefits it may or may not deliver.

The audit shows significant areas of concern with the helicopter program, including but not limited to:

• The audit found that the helicopter program costs nearly $50 million annually while most of the flight time is devoted to low priority events. The estimated annual cost to operate the helicopter program is $46.6 million ($127,805 per day). It costs $2,916 per flight hour. There are 14 city departments whose annual budgets each do not reach this amount.

Details: To read more, go to: https://controller.lacity.gov Scroll to “Audits & Reports” and click LAPD Helicopter Audit.