Half a million pounds to be spent on tablets for Staffordshire Police officers

Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis wants all front line officers to use mobile technology to cut down on red tape in a move he says will 'fundamentally transform' policing.

The huge roll-out is due to start around March and April.

Mr Ellis said using the computers to access information and input data would free up about 5,000 man hours a week, or the equivalent of 100 extra officers.

The project is expected to cost £500,000.

Currently, front-line officers spend about six out of every 10 hours in communities, rather than at police stations, Mr Ellis said.

Using tablet computers is expected to take that up to almost nine out of 10 hours.

He said the technology was also expected to reduce the number of mistakes and incomplete reports.

"It's about police being given more time to do what they want to be doing and what the public want them to be doing, which is out-and-about policing," Mr Ellis said.

He said the project would cut the number of times officers have to return to police stations for both information and to enter reports and statements.

Instead of taking taking statements on paper and later transcribing them on up to to six different systems, officers would write statements directly on the tablets and then upload them to a central server.

The force takes about 200,000 statements a year.

Investigators will also be issued with the tablets, while Mr Ellis believes they could also have wide benefits for forensic examiners.

"I have to say police technology across the country is not good, it's not what you'd expect in nearly 2015.

"So a radical overhaul of the way technology is used, the way it works, will fundamentally improve policing and get more police out and about for more of the time.

Mr Ellis said the use of tablets was part of a wider focus on technology and IT systems that he said was expected to cost £46m over the next seven years.

And the it is planned that 300 core computer systems can be simplified by appointing an information technology partner to work with the police on a long-term arrangement.

Body cameras have been given to more than 1,000 police officers in the county to capture criminal evidence on film.

Around £100,000 would be spent to issue the equipment to all frontline officers.

The cameras are the size of a mobile phone and clip on to police vests.

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said: "Any measures that mean police officers spend more time on the beat rather than tied up with paperwork in the office is good. We want to see a visible police presence in our communities and if this achieves that then that can only be a good thing. We want to see more technology used to crack down on crime and to see police on our street 24 hours a day."