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Jun. 14--GUILFORD COUNTY -- A year-old Triad law enforcement aviation project has brought national recognition to the county.
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office is a "flagship agency" for the use of small aircraft in law enforcement and will be honored by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association during the association's July 14-17 conference in Tempe, Ariz.
The agency leads a task force that flies a 2006 Sky Arrow 600 sport airplane to conduct drug searches and locate missing persons, among other missions. The Sheriff's Association of Texas owns the airplane through a federal National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center program.
Darian Williams, a technology specialist for the Small, Rural, Tribal and Border Regional Center's Aviation Technology Program, said the sheriff's office is a "flagship agency."
"Agencies participating in our program are required to submit a report each time the aircraft is used, and it's not uncommon to receive three or four reports a week from Guilford County," Williams said.
Guilford deputies fly the aircraft for partner agencies who don't have trained pilots. Sheriff BJ Barnes said residents have benefited from the department's use of the plane.
"Our plane has enabled us to make better drug cases, to identify and follow suspects who have committed or are about to commit crimes," Barnes said.
"We have utilized it on searches for missing and lost persons and we have used it to patrol areas that normal vehicles would have difficulty getting to."
Partner agencies are Alamance County, Davidson County, Forsyth County and Randolph and Rockingham counties.
"It's a tool that's made a difference in Guilford County," Barnes said.
Air Guilford
Expenses: $10,000 a year from money seized from criminals and distributed by federal law enforcement agencies. It costs $47 an hour for police to fly the two-seat airplane based in Guilford County.
