Audit says LAPD's use of helicopters "causes significant harm to the community"

An audit conducted by the Los Angeles City Controller's Office revealed a number of facts on the Los Angeles Police Department's use of helicopters, reporting that the frequency "causes significant harm to the community."

The audit, which was the first-ever directed at LAPD's helicopter program, the Air Support Division, was led by City Controller Kenneth Mejia and his staff. It was conducted in response to a number of calls from the community, as well as several organizations that requested more information on the program, costs and performance of the helicopters. 

Overall, it was determined that the program spends just over 60% of flight time on incidents considered to be "low-priority," costing nearly $50 million annually to taxpayers, according to data analyzed between 2018 and 2022. 

Additionally, the report delved into whether the department has "justified the need for the program's current size and scope," a statement from the controller's office said. The department has 17 helicopters and over 90 employees. 

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. 

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore issued a statement after the audit's results were released. 

"I believe the Air Support Division's activities play a critical role in our public safety mission here in Los Angeles," he said. "Their flights frequently result in their arrival at calls for service ahead of our patrols aiding responding officers with critical information and situational awareness. Air support also provides added patrols to detect and prevent crimes including residential burglaries while also responding to officers' assistance calls involving violent and highly dangerous situations."

Moore says that the department will review the recommendations made by the controller's office as "the department continuously strives to identify improvements that can be made."

LAPD first began using helicopters in the 1950s and the Air Support Division was started nearly two decades later. 

Additional findings in the audit disclosed that LAPD's helicopter program costs more money than 14 city departments' annual budgets and that 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."

LAPD helicopters are also said to spend a "disproportionate" amount of time flying in certain communities when compared to other areas. 

Mejia's audit also disclosed that there has been no comprehensive external audit of the program since its inception, meaning the monitoring of the ASD's performance, inefficiencies and data reliability issues have gone unchecked to date. 

The department reportedly doesn't have a formal contract with a flight log application vendor, with the report pointing to ethical and legal concerns presented by this issue.

The city operates their helicopter fleet on a nearly "continuous basis" as there are typically two helicopters flying for 20 hours every day of the year, logging an average of 16,000 hours of flight time per year. The total translates to more than $2,900 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," Mejia's office said in a statement.

As to the environmental impact that the helicopter program causes, the controller's office says that they burn approximately 761,000 gallons of fuel annually — 47.6 gallons per hour — in turn releasing 7,427 metric tons of carbon dioxide in that time frame. 

A number of recommendations were provided by the controller's office in order to reduce inefficiencies within the department. Those suggestions included data collection and management, boosting transparency and monitoring the performance of helicopters. 

Additionally, it was recommended that the department establish a formal set of performance goals and metrics that are routinely assessed and made public so that the progress could be monitored. 

The audit provides the city with information to use as a guideline in order to make necessary changes to the program as they see fit.