After Tayside Scotland police forces now piloting PDA in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness
Tayside police were piloting Scottish developed CCTV and PDA software back in January, Now Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness police officers are now also to be given handheld computers to free up time spent on paperwork, although no mention is made of the newer forces having CCTV facilities yet.
The technology, claimed to save thousands of hours every year, is now being piloted by three more of Scotland's eight forces, and police chiefs want it introduced nationwide by 2010 according to the Daily Record.
Grampian chief constable Colin McKerracher, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, says: "We have been talking about this since the late 80s and we are now getting to a point where it is becoming a reality. It is exciting and it will hugely reduce the time officers spend filling out forms."
"We are piloting it in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness just now and, hopefully, within a couple of years, we will have a solution that we will put round the whole of Scotland."
McKerracher added the use of PDAs would free officers for frontline duties. Last week, former Northern Ireland police chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan warned the number of officers in England and Wales would have to be reduced. But McKerracher says the opposite is true here. "In Scotland, the way we are dealing with efficiencies is so we can reinvest in frontline services. We are looking to get more officers out of our resource, rather than to reduce numbers to meet efficiency targets."
Meanwhile, reports the Daily Record, the 43 members of ACPOS will this week approve a reform package which aims to increase their influence in shaping public policy.
Sources: http://computescotland.com/709
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/