While the Swedish ground police units are responsible for maintaining public safety and enforcing law on the ground, the Police Wing or “Polisflyget” (as the ground personnel call the air unit) can quickly cover large areas and reach remote locations. So together they make a formidable team.
“To cooperate with the ground units we have four tactical radios installed,” Lindell says. “We are performing approximately
4,500 missions each year. The calls for our support are coming in from the command centrals, but a policeman on the street or the (ground) crews respond themselves to what is happening.” He further explains that the air units are constantly listening to their police radios, so if they hear about an incident where they think the helicopter would be helpful they can choose to go, regardless of whether the ground police make a request.