Computers for bobbies on the beat

POCKET computers for bobbies on the beat will transform policing on the streets of the East Riding.

All beat officers are being issued with mini- computers linking them to the police national data base.

Officers will be able to check up-to-the-minute intelligence on criminals and check logs on the state-of-the-art devices, which are accessed by fingerprint.

The £1,500 hand-held computers, similar to the Blackberry, combine e-mail, Internet and phone services.

It will cut trips back to the station for paperwork, meaning bobbies can spend more time on the beat.

They are being issued to more than 120 neighbourhood police officers and police community service officers across the East Riding, following a successful pilot scheme in Scunthorpe.

Chief Inspector Paul Cunningham, who is in charge of neighbourhood policing in the East Riding, said: "It will transform policing on the street. Officers will have police intelligence at their fingertips while they are out on the beat.

"It will keep them out on the street to the very last minute.

"It's about making sure officers are out where the public have access to them and they are doing the job people that people pay their council tax for."

Chief Insp Cunningham said the move will also free-up time on the police radio and save time spent on paperwork.

He explained: "It will free-up radio time because until now, if they were going to do a police national computer check, they had to do it over the radio. Now they can do it instantly on these devices.

"It will also save on form-filling. Whereas previously they had to fill in forms at the police station, this system is compatible so they can do it on the street."

The new technology will be a boost for policing in the rural East Riding, which spans 933 sq m.

The £200,000 roll-out of the portable computers has started this week.

All of the East Riding's neighbourhood officers and PCSOs will be equipped and trained by July 15.

The devices will then be rolled out to more than 150 officers in Hull from mid-July.

Humberside Police has been awarded £1.5m Home Office funding for the force-wide initiative, which is also being backed by £350,000 from Humberside Police Authority.