Air 1, the Winnipeg Police Service helicopter (HANDOUT / FILE)
Winnipeg police have put out a request for proposals to review its Flight Operations Unit, the department tasked with overseeing the deployment of Air 1.
The police service helicopter came into service in 2011. Five years later, the former provincial NDP government announced it would seek an independent assessment of the unit, but the Progressive Conservatives cancelled the proposed review in 2017.
At the time, Winnipeg police said the service would follow through on the independent assessment, which will undertake an objective, fair and evidence-based assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the FOU.
In 2017, the province spent $1.7 million to keep Air 1 in the skies.
Police say the review’s goal is to determine if funding and resources allocated to the FOU align with the mission, goals, and strategies of the 2015-2019 Strategic/Business Plan as well as unit objectives.
The RFP is available on the city’s website.
