With a slumping economy, neighborhood watch committees are turning to private contractors to provide surveillance over their properties, and what better way than to license independent helicopter shuttle services to keep criminals on the run?
"We have a great working relationship," claims Eric Lebbacker, speaking for the graffiti-ridden Westview subdivision in Phoenix. "The pilots equip their birds with searchlights, then buzz the neighborhood during the peak crime hours of midnight to four in the morning. We don't have to pay them anything because their customers are foreign tourists who pay them in Euros to see the dangerous streets of America depicted on dozens of syndicated cop shows."
A helicopter pilot leads a demonstration in a safe neighborhood. Typically the spotlight would be filled with fleeing minorities.Like many neighborhood association committee members, Lebbacker does not actually live in the neighborhood from which he collects dues checks, but rather in the upscale Paradise Valley subdivision, a gated community with a community pool, country club, and far lower crime rate.
From Wikipedia: Police helicopters are normally equipped with variants such as night vision, FLIR, infrared, surveillance cameras, radar, special radio systems and engines, loudspeaker systems, tear gas dispensers, searchlights, winches and winch cables, flashing light beacons, police rescue equipment and special seating. Weapons are usually not attached to the aircraft.