Update: 3:35PM NEW ZEALAND: FROM Monday October 2, 2017, the Police ‘Eagle’ Helicopter will be operating 24-hours a day, seven days a week providing essential support to on-the-ground staff in keeping communities safe.

Police say those extra hours had become possible through the Safer Communities package announced earlier this year, which would see an extra $388million of funding for Police during the next four years.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the investment enabled Police to allocate new staff, equipment, training and other resources to districts and service centres and included among this was the ability for Eagle to go 24/7.

“Literally having ‘eyes in the sky’ will give us an invaluable advantage in keeping the streets safe for our communities,” Mr Bush said.

He said Eagle was involved in not only catching offenders but it also greatly assisted with search and rescue operations.

“There are many examples where thanks to Eagle, missing children, elderly people and those who may have health issues have been quickly located.”

In the 2016/17 financial year, Eagle attended over 3500 incidents and in almost 1600 of those incidents, the targeted person was located.

“This includes offenders who had committed offences, including burglaries, vehicle theft, aggravated robberies or been involved in pursuits. These results really speak for themselves.

“We want our community to know that when Eagle is up in the air, it is playing a vital role in keeping families and whanau safe.”

An official ceremony will be held at Eagle’s base at Mechanics Bay.