iPads and iPhones to fight crime at Brisbane G20

Queensland Police Service Commissioner Ian Stewart announced today that the state's police force will be given 1,250 iPads and iPhones in time for the 2014 Group of 20 (G20) Summit, which is being held in Brisbane later this year.

"The Queensland Police Service will be actively using these new devices and technologies during the G20 events later in 2014 to protect world leaders," said Stewart.

The move follows a trial, which kicked off in October last year, of 50 iPads and iPhones deployed to officers from far north Queensland to Surfers Paradise and remote patrols in the north west of the state.

According to Stewart, the results of the trial had been positive.

"We have received feedback from officers which shows these devices are successful operational tools, particularly in remote and regional Queensland," said Stewart.

"Officers are getting greater access to operational information where traditionally they would have to rely on radios in areas of bad coverage."

The mobile devices are loaded with an application developed by the Queensland Police called QLiTE, which provides instant access to police databases for officers on the move.

The QLiTE app allows officers to search people, vehicles and address details through QPS, CrimTrac and Department of Transportation systems and is expected to eventually be augmented to include additional functionality, according to Dempsey.

"The technology provides a platform for myriad different functions, and will eventually include applications such as fingerprint and facial recognition technology," said Queensland’s minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Jack Dempsey.

In a statement, Dempsey indicated the rollout of the new technology was part of the state government's initiative to revitalise its frontline services.

"We are committed to delivering better frontline police infrastructure and we are investing more than ever before into new technology for emergency services," said Dempsey. "These devices can save up to 30 minutes per officer per shift in desk time, which will add up to many thousands of desk hours per week."

Earlier this month, it was announced that Queensland Police officers would soon be able to use iPads and smartphones to monitor Brisbane's entertainment hotspots thanks to a live feed from the city's CCTV networks.

Queensland is not the only Police force in the country to roll out crime-fighting technology on mobile devices, with Tasmania trialling 40 3G-capable tablet devices over a three-week period in May last year.

Across the Tasman, the New Zealand Police announced in February that it would invest a lump sum of NZ$4.3 million and NZ$159 million over 10 years into rolling out Apple iPhones and iPads to its officers.