Booze buses get tech revamp

New technology that effectively brings police stations on to the road means boozed-up drivers will be processed faster and their identities confirmed instantly, police say.

The Booze Bus Biometrics system was launched today by Police Minister Michael Woodhouse -- who was given a taste of what offenders would go through if they failed a breath test.

His fingerprints and photo were taken inside the bus at the police crash and calibrations unit just north of Wellington.

"I'd better put on my serious face," he said as his mug shot was snapped.

The 21 buses would be rolled out to "hotspots" nationwide over the next month at a cost of just over $400,000, he said.

The new technology would confirm within minutes the identities of people police intended to charge with certain drink-driving offences, by electronically scanning fingerprints, taking digital photographs and comparing the data to existing police records.

A trial of the system has been run in Wellington over the past few weeks.

Mr Woodhouse said it would help make police's job more efficient.

"It's going to identify those recidivist drivers, it's going to more efficiently process them and get them off the road faster."

If the driver who had their fingerprints and photo taken was not prosecuted, their information would be destroyed.

Assistant Commissioner of road policing Dave Cliff said the technology was effectively bringing the police station out on to the road.

"It just brings 21st century technology into the mobility platform, which is what we've been doing.

"We've given our staff iPads, iPhones, which means they can carry out checks and this is sort of the next iteration of what we're doing."

Having a photo taken required the person to stand still in one spot -- which would be difficult for seriously intoxicated people.

"So when people are absolutely paralytic, which in some cases they are, and they actually can't go through the process, then the charge becomes driving while incapable, which becomes a really serious offence.

"There are some of those, but there aren't a huge number."

Mr Cliff was confident that the wireless data would be kept secure.

"Everything's encrypted and so there's no opportunity to interfere with data, it arrives in packages back through our system in the same way as other secure data is packaged -- the digital speed cameras for example."

******

The process:

* a driver is breath tested;

* if that shows a level of alcohol above the legal limit, then an evidentiary breath test would be taken;

* if that test fails, the driver then has fingerprints taken on a digital device and sent wirelessly to the police fingerprint information system;

* a digital photo is then taken ; and

* computerised checks to validate identity are made from the fingerprint information and information is sent to officers if that person is wanted on a warrant.