By Nick Heath, 11 April 2008 15:22
NEWS
Every police officer in London is to be tracked using a new electronic tagging system that will be able to pinpoint their location out on the beat to within a few feet.
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The £2.2m scheme will see the Metropolitan Police Service's 31,500 officers have tags fitted to their radio microphones from this autumn.
The Automated Personal Location System, dubbed 'CopNav', is the first of its kind in the UK and will allow an officer's location to be rapidly pinpointed to a few feet within the 620-square-mile beat.
The Met's tracking ability is currently limited to monitoring the whereabouts of squad cars.
If a pilot of the system in two London boroughs is successful this autumn the system will be rolled out for every officer across London.
A spokesman for the Met told silicon.com: "It will give us the ability to locate our officers extremely swiftly and provide a more effective way of utilising our resources. It will be particularly useful if officers need urgent assistance, we can locate them more definitively rather than having to rely on their last call-in."
In news reports the Metropolitan Police Federation - the body representing the rank and file officers in the force - has raised concerns about the privacy implications of the scheme.
But the Met's spokesman said the force is consulting with the Federation about the scheme and is considering its views. He added the pilot would ensure the system was secure and worked effectively within the city's built-up environment.
The Metropolitan Police Federation refused to comment.
The system is being implemented by technology company Telent and is being funded by the Met.
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. Roger Huffadine
Aw - shit - no more cuppas for the coppers round at their mates house then :(
2. Jeremy Wickins
Isn't it just amazing how police representatives start bringing up privacy implications of surveillance when it is the police on the receiving end? I can't recall ever hearing them talking about the privacy of those of us who are not in the police force whenever a new system is being touted! Bunch of hypocrites ...
3. Radical Meldrew
Will they put more coppers back on the beat to justify the expense of the tracking system? If they do - its money well spent.
4. anonymous
Mobile phone tracking has got to be cheaper...
As all ploicemen I see seem to have a mobile phone why not track this. As the technology is in place to pinpoint a mobile to within a a few yards, expecially in London, why should they re-invent the wheel.
5. Karen Challinor
Roger Huffadine - "Aw - shit - no more cuppas for the coppers round at their mates house then :("
popping in to peoples homes for a chat and yes a cuppa is a good way of reassuring the community that the police are doing their job and gaining intelligence on local activities
any coppers round my way are more than welcome for a cuppa, their beats never seem to get this far though
but yes popping in to their mates for half an hour on the sofa isn't a good thing
6. MadCabbage
Not the first APLS....
Down here in the south-west, we got there first, in Nov 2007 - and it's already saved a couple of police officers a mauling..