WELLINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand police's "Eagle" helicopter will be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, starting on Monday, providing essential support to on-the-ground staff in keeping communities safe as a "game-changer."
A police statement said that these extra hours have become possible through the Safer Communities package announced earlier this year, which will see an extra 388 million NZ dollars (279 million U.S. dollars) of funding for police during the next four years.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said that the investment enables police to allocate new staff, equipment, training and other resources to districts and service centers and included amongst this is the ability for "Eagle" to go round-the-clock.
"Literally having eyes in the sky' will give us an invaluable advantage in keeping the streets safe for our communities," Bush said, adding that "Eagle" is involved in not only catching offenders but it also greatly assists with search and rescue operations.
"There are many examples where thanks to 'Eagle,' missing children, elderly people and those who may have health issues have been quickly located," he said.
In the 2016-17 financial year, "Eagle" attended over 3,500 incidents and in almost 1,600 of those incidents, the targeted person was located, which includes offenders who had committed offences including burglaries, vehicle theft, aggravated robberies or been involved in pursuits, according to the police statement.
