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UK: Statistics on police helicopter laser attacks; one has been struck 100 times "over the last year"

A September 12 2016 news article in The Star states that “[t]he police helicopter used in South Yorkshire has suffered nearly 100 laser attacks over the past year.” The article also states this is “more laser attacks than any other police aircraft in the country.”

Assuming “over the past year” means “in the last 12 months”, that would be an average of about two laser illuminations per week.

A separate article from BBC News states that in 2015 there were 91 reported laser illuminations of National Police Air Service aircraft. The largest number was 20 attacks against NPAS helicopters taking off from its Carr Gate headquarters near Wakefield, West Yorkshire.”

Reasons for the apparent discrepancy in numbers are not clear. It may be that South Yorkshire is not a member of the NPAS, which provides centralized air support to local police forces.

The BBC News chart below shows the 2015 NPAS laser attacks:

Pic 2016-09-14 at 1.58.41 PM

The NPAS is testing laser protective eyewear, as a means to help protect flight crews.

From The Star and BBC News. Interestingly, a September 14 search of the South Yorkshire Police website, to find more information about these incidents and police concern regarding lasers, did not find any results when searching for the term “laser.”