Officers on the beat in north Wales are the first in the UK to test out a new �8m high tech computer system.

The hand-held technology will give officers on patrol instant access to police records.

We estimate an extra 100 officers will be available for front line duty as a result of these measures Tom O'Donnell North Wales Police

Up-to-date information will be also be sent from control rooms to officers at the scene of an incident.

The system will allow officers to see pictures of known criminals or images of missing people.

In the past officers would have had to have returned to the police station to access such information.

It is hoped the scheme will reduce the amount of time spent on time consuming tasks and will lead to more officers patrolling the streets.

Supt Ruth Purdie: "Forward planning"

In addition, the hand held computer will display the route to an incident as well as update vehicle positions automatically.

This data will be available via Mobile Data Tablets (MDTs) which will be installed in some 200 patrol cars over the next 12 months.

It is hoped that all 1,500 officers will be equipped with the hand held computers within the next six months.

Superintendent Ruth Purdie said the system would enable police to deal with situations more professionally.

"Only last week two officers were attending a domestic incident in Bangor," she said.

Response times

"While they were on their way they were able to get information about the incident, for example whether a firearm was involved or not.

"They were also able to check whether the people concerned had been involved in similar incidents in the past."

Police say this will significantly reduce the time it takes to respond to incidents.

Furthermore, officers will be able to update incidents remotely, thus increasing the time they spend on patrol and less time sifting through paperwork at the station.

North Wales Police's director of finance and resources, Tom O'Donnell, said: "We estimate an extra 100 officers will be available for front line duty as a result of these measures.

"We will be cutting down on bureaucracy and running the system in a more business-like way."