Police Helicopters

Frank H. Strausser’s claim that LAPD helicopters are “high-tech solutions to crime” is archaic (Voices, Nov. 23). Helicopters are no more “high-tech” than the patrol car of the 1950s. The suggestion that high-tech gadgets are a “solution” to crime is laughable. Law enforcement methods of any type are mere deterrents.

The claim that the use of helicopters is the reason that Los Angeles has “one of the smallest police forces per capita of any large American city” ignores the fact that the size of the Los Angeles Police Department is dictated by budget priorities. Helicopters are the most efficient form of rapid transit over Los Angeles’ geographically dispersed metropolitan region.

There is nothing wrong with being brought to the realization that one’s neighborhood is subject to the unpleasant realities of modern life. I live in what is politely termed a “transitional neighborhood.” I find the presence of the San Diego Police Department helicopter far less intrusive than sirens from the fire station a block away, or the sounds of patrol cars screeching to a halt at the apartment house across the street. If anything, it is a reminder that the law-abiding citizens of this ethnically mixed neighborhood are still under the protection of the law. For that we should all be thankful.

CHARLES WESLEY KIM JR., San Diego