so, what would a terrorist unit gain access to if say they kill a police officer whilst the officer is on duty and logged into his new toy as an opening salvo in a plan to rain down death and destruction? Has this scenario been considered?

iPlod? Mis-use of the technology could be an iPlod no-no.

I would suppose they would (unbelievably) have some authentication measures in place

What an absolutely fucking absurd notion - you really have signed up to the twerror crap Wacky throws out, haven't you.

How would killing a policeman just for his device help to "rain down death and destruction"? Do they all carry plans for Downing Street on them? Or nuclear launch codes? Is the device not password protected, do we think? What's that you say....they tortured the password out of him first? Does that now mean the twerrwists can then access the Queens travel plans by bumping off PC Halfwit in Milton Keynes.

No.

Fucking Moron.

Take a chill pill, induhviduals like @AC should be pittied no abused. A half wit is better than none (except he's probably allowed to vote).

I don't know about "iPlod", but the West Midlands police certainly do have a "Plodcast"

I dont believe I am seeing this. More to the point I dont understand why people cant see the danger inherant in the system.

The police are going to get in hand data systems - computery type things. Given the average IQ of the cops I have run into getting them to manage the complicated 'press on to switch it on' process is going to be at least a months training.

Also, given that most of the police I have run into would have been kicked out of the 1. leibstandarte SS for excessive racism & homo/trans/delete as applicable, we havent decided yet-phobia... and these things will have to have editable documents..... can you see where this is going? police.. corrupt...course not guv (..*thud*.. as fingers meet 2nd desk draw in as many minutes...)

At least you knew that although the police would do crap all to help you what you said in your statement and they wrote down would stay the same at least until they got hold of some tippex back at the barracks (I meant station, honest...).

...and to end this broadcast I leave you with quotes from the one homophobic racist cop you *dont* want to clout upside the head with 2 foot of rusty iron bar... Gene Hunt.

Sam Tyler: I think we need to explore whether this attempted murder was a hate crime.

Gene: What as opposed to one of those I-really-really-like-you sort of murders?

Sam Tyler: This place is like Guantanamo Bay.

Gene: Keep off, it’s nothing like Spain.

The really scary thing - they arent that much different now - just crap Fiestas for panda cars not crap Allegros...

---British Leyland - Now We're Rusting---

...the device shall be known as an iPlod.

Unless the suspect has left his fingers behind I doubt SOCO will be sending anything from them.

"I dont understand why people cant see the danger inherant in the system."

Because we're not in a Monty Python sketch?

The business case for giving Plod and IPod is false.

It won't lessen trips back to the station and enable Plod to spend more time on the beat.

Considerable time is spent by Plod filling in forms - as stated in the article. Is Mr Plod now going to fill those forms out on his mobile device? Not a chance in hell. Screen size is too small and so is the keyboard - if it's stylus based, you'll be there for a month of Sundays.

That paperwork still needs to be done, and it can only be done back at the station.

Where mobile devices score is by carrying out checks against databases such as the PNC, national insurance database where the officer no longer needs to make a radio call.

The number of radio operators can be reduced.

....these work better than the radios.