By Natasha Lomas, 26 September 2007 17:24
NEWS
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to arm police with thousands of "handheld computers" so officers can make more effective use of their time and increase the amount of frontline policing they do.
Brown, who was making his maiden speech as leader to the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, said: "We will provide hand held computers - 1,000 now, by next year 10,000 right across the country - cutting paperwork so that officers can log crimes on the spot, stay on the beat and not waste time returning to the station to fill out forms."
Mobile data devices are currently being trialled by several police forces in the UK, including Cheshire Police, while the British Transport Police completed a rollout of handheld data devices back in March.
Andrew Watson, chief information officer for the British Transport Police, said in a statement: "The use of mobile technology eliminates a massive administration burden from police officers, releasing them to concentrate on the job they are trained to do. Furthermore, it ensures that information is up-to-date and accurate."
Mobile policing tech got a second mention in the PM's conference speech, as he touched on how UK police forces in gun crime troublespots are making use of hand-held weapon detectors.
Brown said: "The police will now match intensive uniformed patrolling and extensive undercover work with the use of stop and search powers and dispersal powers, reinforced by new hand-held weapon detectors."
He also talked about the power of the internet as an influencing force in children's lives, yet his tone was cautionary. "Today amongst the biggest influences on children are the internet, TV and commercial advertising," he said. "And like many parents I feel I'm struggling to set the boundaries so that children can be safe - and that's why we have asked [child psychologist] Dr Tanya Byron to look at how families can make the most of the opportunities new technology gives, while doing our duty to protect children from harmful material."
Comments
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1. Mark Hosey
So they're going to give them all handheld PCs and that's going to reduce paperwork?
Is it not because we all have PCs that there is now so much paperwork about?
Call me cynical but I think their paper work will increase. You see, the bureaucrats will treat it as an opportunity to introduce a bunch of new schemes requiring police officers to fill out a raft of new forms (all be it on line). They will say it’s to make the police more efficient. Of course the real purpose will be to make the bureaucrat’s job easier and give the statisticians a load of data to analyse and it will all be at the expense of the police officers on the beat.
I would suggest shoulder mounted video cameras with sound and video recording equipment and a GPS system, as well as old fashioned note taking would be a better idea. And it doesn’t matter if the notes are taken on a hand held or in a note book because whether its a pen or stylus it still takes the same amount of time to take notes and fill out forms .
Video and sound recordings and GPS data using “tamper proof” recording methods would probably do more to free up police officers time. At the end of a shift or after attending an incident they would log the recorded data in. There would then be less need for long winded incident reports. Appearances in court would also become less necessary as videos could be presented as evidence.
And if the statisticians and bureaucrats want their data they can get it by watching the videos themselves and filling in their own damned forms.
2. Jeremy Wickins
Great thoughts, Mark - not only does it save time, it protects both the police and the public. Bring it on!