Kerre McIvor: Police don't need to justify use of Eagle helicopter

Despite its reputation, the People's Republic of Grey Lynn isn't completely over run with liberals and luvvies.

We have our fair share of rough diamonds here too, some of whom come to the attention of the constabulary.

The police Eagle helicopter is often overhead in the hood. I seem to notice it most often in the summer for some reason. Perhaps because we spend a lot of time outdoors in the balmy months and the noise it makes as it monitors its targets is more noticeable.

Hand on heart, I have never, ever thought of complaining about the noise of the chopper.

I have thought about covering myself up a bit as I soak up the rays in the backyard. After all, a policeman's job is hard enough without being subjected to gratuitous displays of semi nakedness.

And I have on occasion thought, "Bet they'd rather be at the beach", as I've seen the boys and girls in blue hovering on a clear, blue-skied summer Saturday.

However, it appears that for some people, the sound of the Eagle helicopter is not the sound of security and safety, as the police go about their business of protecting communities.

For the Remuera Residents' Association, the police helicopter is a nuisance, disturbing the beauty sleep of blameless Remuera matrons and captains of industry as it flies over their affluent suburb on the way to the mean streets of South Auckland.

The exact wording, as it read on the association's Facebook page, was: Aviation nuisance continues to proliferate.

The two primary issues of concern for the association were: helicopter nuisance mostly from police between 9pm and 6am flying over Remuera to get to the 75 per cent of attendances that are South Auckland located and proliferation of commercial aircraft over Ōrākei Ward.

The councillor, Troy Churton, then calls for people to email him with their concerns and experiences.

Honestly. This sort of elitist, arrogant tosh just perpetuates stereotypes.

I have a dear friend who once lived in Remmers who could never quite bring herself to say she lived there. Despite the fact she was ensconced in Vicky Ave, surely the dead centre of the suburb, the most she would concede was that she lived in the greater Parnell area.

And with pompous idiots like Churton claiming to represent Remuera, you can understand her evasiveness.

Just as a point in fact, Churton is wrong about South Auckland being a hotbed of crime. He didn't back up his 75 per cent statistic – and I assumed that he was basing it purely on prejudice. He was.

Since the Eagle helicopter moved to a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week operation, 43 per cent of the incidents it attended were in the Counties Manakau district.

The police, thank heavens, are taking absolutely no notice of Churton despite fielding numerous personal complaints from him about the noise.

Inspector Peter Gibson says the Eagle is a vital and extremely effective police resource. The chopper is there to provide vital support for on-the-ground police officers, to respond to critical situations and to help locate missing persons, particularly the elderly and small children.

And you just know people like Churton would be screaming for the police to scramble all resources if some oik had the temerity to tamper with his valuables.

Gibson should never have had to waste even a moment of his valuable time justifying the use of the Eagle.

In a week that's seen one of the worst traffic accidents in the country's history, one that has had a dreadful impact on the emergency services who attended, surely our police and first responders need all the support they can get. Not self-centred, self-serving carping criticism from entitled, prejudiced gits in the Remuera Residents Association.

• Kerre McIvor is on Newstalk ZB, today, 9am-noon