Christchurch Police say the Eagle helicopter has already assisted frontline officers within hours of its arrival in the city as part of a two month operation targeting youth offending.

Christchurch Metro Area Commander Superintendent Lane Todd said the helicopter was deployed over the weekend and immediately proved valuable.

He said “Eagle is a great tool that enhances Police response to a variety of jobs. The nature of how Eagle operates is dynamic, which means when it’s not targeting youth offending, it’s able to assist with other work, such as a burglary that occurred on Stanmore Road about 1.40am on Sunday.”

A suspicious vehicle was seen and tracked by the Eagle crew, allowing ground units to arrest two people on McLeod Street about 15 minutes later. Police also recovered stolen items.

Superintendent Todd said there had been a large amount of positive feedback from the public since Eagle’s arrival.

“It’s great to have a resource like Eagle available, but it’s not an overnight fix, and work continues on multiple fronts to prevent youth offending.”

Police also received reports of another burglary at a commercial premises on Harewood Road in Bishopdale at about 3.15am today. The current understanding is that youth were involved.

Police enquiries into the incident are ongoing.