The London Metropolitan Police will proceed to the massive supply of iPad mini devices to equip policemen patrolling the British capital.
According to the announcement of the Metropolitan Police, the program of 200 million pounds and duration of three years, will include the latest technology equipment up to 15.000 police officers with devices tablets of Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),. As a first step, the program will cover the procurement of 600 devices to be promoted to the police stations in Hammersmith and Fulham, London.
The iPad to be procured by the London Police will have pre-installed apps that will enable officers using them to access case files and witness statements. At the same time, they will be provided location-based information about gang members or recent victims of crime, along with directions to the nearest hospitals with emergency units.
According to a relevant report of Financial Times, the Metropolitan Police estimates that with this particular program it will be able to achieve 30% cuts in the IT budget compared to today. At the same time, the concern is also expressed as to whether the goals will be achieved after 2012 in a similar program to supply 40.000 "smart" mobile telephones, the benefits came to £600.000, far short of the £125m savings of the original programme.
On the other hand, program advocates believe that the program's benefits should also include the "predicting" of crimes based on the statistics provided by pre-installed applications. An example is a reference to a similar program implemented in Los Angeles, where the 12% in the areas of application was observed in burglaries, while in areas where earlier tactics were applied there was an increase of 0,5%.
In any case, use it iPad as a means of enforcing the law is something completely new. If the experiment is successful, only time and statistics will show it.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
Picture: EPA / FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
