West Yorkshire police officers are using Blackberry on the road to catch out those who try to avoid arrest by giving false details.

Frontline officers equipped with handheld Blackberry devices can now instantly download digital mugshots of wanted offenders. If there is an outstanding warrant for the person it will show on the screen and the officer can access the warrant system. The use of this technology has already led to several arrests.

If a device is lost, officers can use a 24/7-helpdesk number to report the loss, and within minutes the helpdesk can remove the device from the network and clear any stored data.

Officers can also get their daily briefing information sent to their BlackBerry on email. The system can also warn police to be on the look out for a particular individual and provide embedded links to the StreetWyse record, allowing officers to be encountering the suspect knows whether they are likely to be dangerous or not.

Blackberry Press Release | BBC | Esato | PT | Computing