Smart move: Frontline cops given gadgets to reduce red tape

All frontline officers - including PCSOs and Special Constables - have been given the devices in a bid to save 250,000 hours of police time spent returning to offices to complete paperwork.

This week officers in South Staffordshire were the latest officers to start using the equipment.

Officers are able to perform far more activities away from police buildings through a range of apps.

Each device has access to electronic witness statements, stop and search forms, missing people reports and crime scene management. It will also allow officers to share information –-such as domestic abuse risk assessments - directly with other agencies at the touch of a button.

The complete roll-out is set to be completed by December – three months earlier than originally planned.

Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis said: "It's early days but the feedback I've had from officers has been overwhelmingly positive. They're amazed at how good the technology is and the potential it has to free them up to be out of police stations and on the streets.

"Over the next 12 months, police visibility will rise because of these new devices. That's why we've brought the roll-out forward – police really want this technology so they can do an even better job in their communities.

"When fully bedded in, this technology will help free up an extra 250,000 hours of police time to be out on the beat a year which is the equivalent of an extra 100 officers on duty.

"It is pioneering work that puts Staffordshire ahead of the majority of forces in the country, but more importantly we are taking a significant step to delivering the kind of policing local people tell me they want and need.

"At a time when some police forces are abandoning the traditional neighbourhood policing model, our commitment to local, neighbourhood policing in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is stronger than ever. The top priority is to get officers out and about – more visible and more available."

More than 4,700 electronic witness statements have already been taken, replacing the bureaucratic paper-based system.

Staffordshire Police says vehicle check and issuing a fixed penalty notice now takes three minutes when it would previously have taken 30.

A detective has also been able to send live video from an arson investigation scene to get a second opinion from his supervisor.

Chief Constable Jane Sawyers said: "I can't stress how significant the mobile data project is for Staffordshire Police. This is only the start, but the ability to free our officers and staff from completing paperwork in police stations means that they can spend more time in our communities keeping people safe and reassured.

"At present seven key police tasks, including mobile witness statements, missing persons and stop and search, have been developed.

"With a tablet or smart phone and miniature printer, our officers can carry out, securely, the most important tasks wherever they are. And over the next year we will be adding significantly to the number of processes we develop, enabling our officers to spend more time on the beat.

"It's an exciting time: for the police, and for the communities we serve."