Virtual parades can be arranged more quickly

In the 12 months since the scheme was introduced in April 2003, police say they have been able to hold 812 computerised parades.

Only 489 parades were held in the previous year using the old method.

The new system, known as Viper, is a national database of about 14,000 video images of both suspects and volunteers.

Viper - Video Identification Parade Electronic Recording - was developed by West Yorkshire Police and is used by about 30 forces across the UK.

Changes in the law mean video evidence can be used much earlier in the legal process Insp Chris Mottershead

Suspects are filmed in a video suite and appear in the parade on the screen alongside other individuals of their choice from the database.

People trying to make the identification can then watch the recorded compilation as many times as they wish.

Police say the average time to arrange and run virtual parades has fallen from 24 to 16 days.

Insp Chris Mottershead said: "Viper, which is cheaper to run that traditional line-ups, has revolutionised the way we perform ID parades and made it possible to bring offenders to justice more quickly.

"Live parades can take a long time to organise and prove relatively expensive.

"Changes in the law mean video evidence can be used much earlier in the legal process, although traditional parades can still be performed at Burton if required."

The proportion of successful identifications has fallen slightly since Viper was introduced and stands at 52%, compared to 56% using traditional line-ups.