All police officers in the UK will be equipped with a smartphone to use when on the beat by next year.
During an event at the Houses of Parliament, Gary Cairns, from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), said that the rollout of the devices will finish by March 2010, with 30 forces already providing them for their officers.
Deputy Chief Constable of Hampshire, and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead for the Mobile Information Programme, Ian Readhead, said in a statement: "Mobile computers are absolutely critical to a modern police officer. Having information in the right place at the right time, which is up to date and accurate is vital to help officers with their work with the public."
This announcement is part of an ongoing strategy by the NPIA to equip its forces with modern communications devices. It has so far received 80 million of funding from the government.
The scheme started in back in 2007 when the Prime Minister announced funding for 10,000 such devices to be given to officers across the UK.
This funding has continued to increase as reports from the NPIA have shown smartphones as "bureaucracy busting," saving up to 30 minutes per shift by sending and receiving information when out of the station.
Officers can also access important databases such as the National Police Database without having to go back to the office.
-
RSAC Conference 2025: The front line of cyber innovationITPro Podcast Ransomware, quantum computing, and an unsurprising focus on AI were highlights of this year's event
-
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei thinks we're burying our heads in the sand on AI job lossesNews With AI set to hit entry-level jobs especially, some industry execs say clear warning signs are being ignored
-
NAO: Police mobile rollout failing to deliverNews The police are not getting enough benefits from the Mobile Information Programme, the NAO says.
-
Police crash multi-million pound iPhone fraud partyNews Eight men and one woman have been arrested in connection with a fraud operation thought to have stolen millions of pounds from phone providers.
-
Policing tech could be delayedNews A police force-wide IT system likely won't be possible until at least 2015 and mobile devices won't solve bureaucracy, according to a new report.
-
Report calls for handhelds for all police officersNews A report has suggested all police officers should have mobile computers on the beat, and said the government should pay for it.
-
Public Sector Roundup: BlackBerrys for Thames policeNews More mobile working for UK police, Lancashire upgrades networks with Thus, while the NHS has been told to go with IT to cut carbon.
-
Police awarded £50m for PDA schemeNews Up to 27 police forces in the UK will receive mobile devices in a bid to save officers time while on the beat.
