Whether you agree or not that Britain is fast turning into a surveillance society, it’s undoubtedly true that the police are turning to high tech solutions to help solve crime.
Here are just seven recent examples…
1. Mobile Data Systems
One of the frequent moans about policing from cops and politicians alike is that too much paperwork is keeping officers in their offices and not out on the beat.
The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is aiming to reduce that by providing funding, support and guidance on handheld computing solutions. This enables officers to take notes and file crime reports digitally, while also giving them direct access to databases like the Police National Computer.
QUICK LOOK: Handhelds give the police access to databases on the move
Since the NPIA doesn’t specify which devices should be used, it’s up to individual forces to pick the tools that suit them - which is why you’ll find everything from Windows-based handhelds to Blackberries and even Panasonic Toughbooks being used in squad cars and on the street.
A PC’s PC can be put to all kinds of uses - from capturing evidence using built-in cameras and electronic pocket notebooks like Airwave, to producing stop-and-search forms using mobile printers. Handhelds are also being increasingly used to capture biometric data - scanning a suspect’s fingerprints, for example.
2. Body-worn video cameras
One of the latest tools in beat officer’s armoury is a body-worn video camera that enables the police to record evidence that can be used to secure a prosecution.
Plainly visible, the cameras are often used when dealing with anti-social behaviour - enabling law enforcement to clearly identify what was said, when it was said and to whom. The cameras can also be used to capture video evidence of assaults on the police.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Body-worn cameras are sometimes used by the police in dealing with anti-social behaviour
Strathclyde Police, one of the latest UK forces to adopt body-worn cameras, says “As the camera records the actions of the officer, it will increase accountability and reduce the scope for false allegations.”
3. Mobile CCTV
It’s amazing what people get up into in their cars when they’re supposed to be concentrating on driving - from making and taking mobile calls or texting to doing crosswords and eating breakfast.
Aiming to stamp out this bad driver behaviour is a new pilot scheme in Manchester that uses Smart cars equipped with mobile CCTV cameras.
TINY CAM: Cameras on Smart cars could soon be a common sight
Positioned at busy junctions, the 3.6m high cameras are trained at individual drivers and capture what they’re up to - with the threat of fines and points being added on to the driver’s licence if caught. If the trial is successful, mobile capture cars like these could eventually be rolled out across the UK.
4. Breathalysers
Police have been using electronic replacements for the old blow-in-a-bag breathalysers for ages - and you or your employer can get your hands on something similar.
One of the police’s favourite is the Dräger Alcotest 6510 - a device that’s compact, easy to operate and which gives the perp’s blood alcohol level in around six seconds. It sips energy, too, enabling officers to take up to 1,500 measurements before replacement batteries are needed. Home Office approved, the Dräger Alcotest 6510 costs £746 from UK Breathalysers.
5. Average speed cameras (SPECS)
Commonly used to keep speeds down during motorway roadworks, SPECS cameras use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to capture your number plate at the first mast and then capture it again at each subsequent one.
ROAD WATCH: Average speed cameras are a common sight in motorway roadworks
Because the cameras are linked to each other, it’s easy for the authorities to calculate your average speed across the affected distance - enabling them to issue you with a fine and points on your licence, if necessary.
Speed Check Services, which introduced the cameras to the UK in 1999, says SPECS isn’t lane specific - so swapping lanes between one camera and the next won’t help you avoid prosecution.
6. Unmanned Airborne Vehicles
Frequently used by Allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAVs) are now being increasingly used by UK police forces to capture video evidence.
These pilotless drones are obviously smaller, cheaper and more convenient to operate than regular helicopters - you can stick them in the back of a police van and then pilot them via remote control.
UAVs have been used everywhere from music festivals to football matches, and Strathclyde Police are currently trialling them in rural areas to help them hunt for missing persons. The model they’re using is the E-Swift Eye - a drone that can stay in the air for up to an hour, with a range of 22km.
7. Tasers
The UK is almost singular in its resistance to arming ordinary police officers, relying on specialist firearms units instead. There are signs that is beginning to change with Tasers - non-lethal weapons that immobilise perps using a 50,000 volt electrical charge.
In March controversial home secretary Jacqui Smith made funding available for 7,000 Tasers for UK police forces - the majority of which are Taser X26 and Taser M26 units. The suspicion is that ordinary officers will be increasingly armed with these devices.
SHOCKING: Tasers are in the UK but their use is controversial
While Tasers can undoubtedly help police tackle dangerous situations more effectively, their use is also controversial: in 2007, West Yorkshire Police tasered a comatose diabetic after he was found slumped on a bus holding a rucksack.
Tasers have also been implicated in several deaths in the US and Canada, when cops there got too trigger-happy. Civil liberties groups are also alarmed by the arrival of Taser’s Shockwave - a device that can be used to shock whole crowds of people.
