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The Sky Knight Helicopter Program is an airborne law enforcement program in Lakewood, California which began service in 1966. The unit operates using non-sworn pilots, employed by the city of Lakewood, partnered with a sworn deputy sheriff from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Lakewood station. The unit currently operates three Schweizer 300C helicopters based at Long Beach Airport, and flies about 1,800 hours per year. ==History== The city of Lakewood, California, Sky Knight helicopter patrol program took form in June 1966 from a suggestion by Hugh MacDonald, former aviation unit chief of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. MacDonald saw an immediate need to move airborne law enforcement from special operations toward routine patrols and aerial command. With the support of Sheriff Peter Pitchess, MacDonald chose the City of Lakewood as the best site to test the idea of a helicopter patrol program. The decision involved Lakewood city officials, Lakewood Sheriff’s station Captain Ted von Minden, the Hughes Tool Company (Manufacturers of the 300B helicopters to be flown in the study), and the federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. One of the first two pilots in the Sky Knight program was LA County Sheriff Deputy Richard E. Waldow. A resident of Long Beach, "Dick" Waldow was a perfect candidate for this pioneering law enforcement position, having already logged many hours of helicopter and fixed-wing flight experience while serving as a US Marine during the Korean War. The results of the Sky Knight program were almost immediate. During the 18-month study, crime in Lakewood went down by 11 percent while it rose 9 percent in the rest of Los Angeles County during the same period. The program was so successful that it expanded to the other cities served by Lakewood Sheriff's station. Sky Knight became the first airborne law enforcement program in the nation to fly regularly scheduled patrols. In a continued history of firsts, Sky Knight also employed the first female law enforcement pilot, Monica McIntyre. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sky Knight Helicopter Program」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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