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Photos: Five mobile gadgets for cops
... and other emergency services

By Julian Goldsmith

Published: Tuesday 27 November 2007

Police forces and other emergency services are being equipped with mobile devices to keep officers in contact with HQ and enable dispatchers to more efficiently allocate resources.

In August this year, Bedfordshire Police announced plans to distribute BlackBerrys to 1,000 front line officers by February 2008. The BlackBerry handsets will provide the force with direct access to back-end systems, such as the Police National Computer, warrants, the Police National Legal Database and its own custom-built briefings application. Police officers have the ability to view and edit information on back-end systems while out on the beat.

As a result, the handsets will help officers to spend less time in the station and more time on the beat.

Photo credit: Bedfordshire Council