Force to get upgrade on old phones

Police Scotland plans to spend millions rolling out new mobile technology to officers.

A report to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) from the force’s Deputy Chief Officer David Page estimates the total cost of the new devices and the necessary support network at £21.6 million. He said staff were operating “inefficiently” with either no or out-of-date phones.

Mr Page said the rollout of new mobile devices could generate around £49m of efficiency savings over a five-year period through time saved by staff. The plan is for 600 devices by the end of the financial year, with the full 10,000 to follow.