Editorial: High-tech cops able to reassure

It is good to see our police force keeping up with the times and using technology in the fight against crime.

More than 100 frontline police officers from Hawke's Bay, Counties Manukau West, Lower Hutt and West Coast have been trialling a new system of taking the latest technology - iPads, laptops and smartphones - out on the road.

This technology leap allows police officers to check information and details on the spot. They are also not wasting precious time going back to the office to check emails and catch up on correspondence.

How often have you heard people bemoaning the fact that we have too many police officers behind desks and not enough out on the frontline. Visible policing makes the public feel safer. Even if it is just a perception, the general feeling still is that not enough police men and women are walking the beat.

"Staff are now able to be out in their communities, being highly visible in a preventative role, while still remaining productive, checking their emails and making notes in our National Intelligence Application all without having to return to police stations," Police Commissioner Peter Marshall has said.

This bold step by the police is a good thing because it will counter that argument and show people that our police officers are out and about in the communities. I don't even mind if the patrol teams sit in their cars and send the occasional personal email. They are still on the spot and ready to respond to anything.

Let's hope this trial is rolled out to the entire country. It is also good to see the investment in technology to catch criminals.

I personally have no problem with my hard-earned tax dollar going towards fancy gadgets for police. If it makes their job easier and allows for information to be checked then I am all for it.

It would be awful if a simple thing like not having a laptop resulted in a criminal slipping through a police cordon, when all it needed was a police officer to pop online and check details.

The harder we make it for criminals to get away with their crimes, the safer we will be. If the technology is available, it would be foolish not to use it.