BOBBIES in Barnsley will be spending more time on the beat thanks to their new 'tablet' devices.
The mobile devices will allow police officers and PCSOs to check and update police systems whilst out and about – cutting down on travel and time spent inside police stations.
At public meetings, officers and PCSOs will be able to check and log information whilst they are there, meaning a better response to queries from members of the public.
The devices will also mean an officer visiting the victim of a burglary could update and check police systems, and carry out other tasks related to the crime while they are with the victim in their front room.
A total of 660 tablets have been purchased by the South Yorkshire Force as part of a joint collaboration with Humberside police force, financed by Home Office funding and contributions by each force's police and crime commissioners.
Deputy chief constable Andy Holt said: "As well as meaning that officers can spend more time in the communities that they serve, it means that they have all the information they need at their fingertips and can be more effective in their job."
** The full story appears in the Barnsley Chronicle, dated October 10. *
