ALEA Safety First Program Newsletters

December 2004

Keith Johnson
Safety Program Manager

This is the first monthly newsletter that will go to all ALEA member organizations. It will focus on topics of immediate interest. Members will be able to post comments or questions on topics of interest. It will include the results of ALEA and outside organization surveys and studies, information on mishaps, upcoming events, and a host of other information related to law enforcement aviation. Members are encouraged submit comments and questions by email to safety@alea.org. You can also visit the Safety Section on the website to post questions and make comments. This is a valuable tool that enables us to exchange information between people and organizations.

The ALEA Board of Directors adopted ALEA’s first formal Safety Program at the 2004 National Conference in North Carolina. The Safety First Program is intended to eliminate accidents. As an organization we have a real challenge. Over the last 5 years law enforcement aviation has had 87 accidents, resulting in 23 fatal 66 non-fatal injuries, and the destruction of tens of millions of dollars in equipment and property. We can and must do better. Even one accident is one accident too many. Every organization is encouraged to adopt a zero accident policy as part of their goals and objectives.

Safety First will focus on Unit Managers and Safety Officers as the first order of business. One of the top priorities of the program will be to have every Unit Manager attend formal ALEA training. Unit Managers are the key to eliminating accidents and training is essential to their success. In 2005, ALEA will waive the cost of tuition and conference registration for the first 50 Unit Managers, that are ALEA members, who register for the Unit Manager Course at the Nation Conference in Reno, Nevada. Visit the ALEA website and click on the Safety First icon to learn more about the Safety First Program. Comments are always appreciated.

ACCIDENT SUMMARY

From 1999-2003, 40% of law enforcement accidents occurred in military surplus aircraft, and accounted for 45% all fatal and nonfatal injuries. This would appear to indicate that a disproportionate number of accidents occur in military surplus aircraft. This may or may not be the case. We need to know the composition of aircraft operated by our membership. In order to help us better understand the accident picture, I have placed a survey on the ALEA website. You can complete this survey in less than one minute.

Thank you for responding.
“SAFETY FIRST”