The idea of a police helicopter patrolling Winnipeg skies has been talked about for years and now Chief Keith McCaskill says it may be time to review the possibility again.
"I haven't committed to it as far as something the police service needs, but I think it's something we should look at," said McCaskill.
A number of years ago, a group tried to raise money to purchase a police helicopter, but the plan didn't work out.
Choppers are expensive, and so are the operating budgets, but most agree there is a benefit to having a helicopter available.
"In terms of the stolen auto problem, we could certainly see a helicopter being of significant assistance there, in terms of public safety and the apprehension of offenders," said Mike Sutherland from the Winnipeg Police Association.
At this point the idea is still in the discussion stages, but at least there is talk. That wasn't the case a few short months ago.
Last fall, McCaskill told CTV News it wasn't on the priority list.
The chief says after a recent meeting with Edmonton's chief he became interested in looking into the proposal again.
"I've talked to the chief of Edmonton and I know they've got one chopper, and they recently got authority to get another one, and they recently found some success in it, so I think we as an organization have to look at all sort of different things, this is one of them," added McCaskill.
The chief says before the proposal flies, Winnipeg police would have to do a much more detailed cost projection to see if it would work here.
They would also need a buy-in from local politicians.
With a report from CTV's Kelly Dehn
