Lanarkshire cops are to have the traditional police notebook replaced with a top-of-the-range smartphone.
As part of a new £21 million contract, every frontline officer in Scotland will be issued with a handheld mobile device to record and submit incident reports, witness statements and on-the-spot fines.
More than 10,000 officers will be using the £1000-a-piece Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphone by the end of 2020, with all Lanarkshire Division cops expected to be fully operational by March.
East Kilbride Chief Inspector Lex Baillie told the News: “Police Scotland’s investment in this is huge. A modern police service needs to be mobile and agile. The fact we’re tied to a computer means we’re not out on the street.
“This is about utilising the finite resources that we have as best we can. The community are always saying they want to see more police out on the streets and these devices will achieve that. The good thing is it’s technology that will develop as new systems are put in place.”
The software alternative to scribbling down notes will reduce the amount of paperwork officers need to do on a daily basis – saving time and keeping cops on the beat for longer.
Ch Insp. Baillie added: “Ultimately, the devices will increase officer productivity. Officers won’t have to come back to the office several times a day, they can do their work out in the street.
“The public might actually see them sitting in a cafe or in a car working on these devices inputting crime reports.”
The benefits of the new police technology are endless.
The new digital notebook will enable officers to log images and video footage from crime scenes, and gain online access to police databases.
Fixed Penalty Notices or recorded police warnings issued on a paper ticket will be replaced with a ticket printed directly from the device. This saves officers from having to duplicate statements from pen and paper and physically transfer the data into the computer system back at the station.
The devices are protected with extra tough casing and are all encrypted so that if they were
to fall into the wrong hands, criminal records would not be accessible.
PC Katie Edwards said the new technology would also work wonders for officer wellbeing and added: “If an officer has had a particularly busy day and picked up a lot of reports which can’t wait till the next day, they’d have to come in and extend their duties.
“Whereas if you can get that done in your downtime between those calls it will save a lot of time at the end of your shift which will improve officer wellbeing.”
Ch Insp. Baillie added: “This is probably 20 years too late in coming but we have to be grateful for what we’re getting now – we’re really excited about it. It’s a huge step forward for the force.”
