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28th March 2006 - Police are using BlackBerry handheld
devices to trip up criminals who claim to be someone
else when they are stopped and questioned.
The pocket-sized computers help officers to confirm
a suspect's identity by downloading digital mugshots
of people already on their systems to determine whether
the person is who they say they are.
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West Yorkshire Police claimed that the new system, dubbed
StreetWYSE, has already led to several arrests.
"In September 2005 we conducted an internal survey to
find out what else officers would like from their BlackBerry
to aid them in their job," said Paul Friday, director
of information systems at West Yorkshire Police.
"Responses revealed that officers wanted the BlackBerry
to provide them with further intelligence to support street
encounters."
Created by West Yorkshire Police's IT department, StreetWYSE
is a mobile version of the Force's main computerised intelligence
system known as the West Yorkshire Search Engine, or WYSE.
WYSE contains everything the Force knows about individuals,
in addition to the comprehensive information stored on the
Police National Computer.
Besides being able to access images, the system allows officers
discreetly to check other vital information, such as whether
an individual is known to carry weapons or is violent to police
officers.
West Yorkshire Police currently has 2,500 BlackBerrys in
operation, 2,300 of which have been issued to frontline officers.
A statement by the Force said that it took only a few minutes
to be trained on how to use a BlackBerry, and that the devices
helped save an average of 145 hours per frontline officer
per year.
"The introduction of the devices has saved the Force
an estimated £8.8m based on the time saved by officers
being able to access computer systems while on the streets,"
said West Yorkshire Police.
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