Call me cynical, but I really don’t think our police forces require iPads to fight crime in the UK. Of course, this is where someone interrupts me to talk about paper wastage, or how the police are a “service” and not a “force.” Yada yada yada.
On the very day that it was announced that the British government wasted £120bn last year, we find out the UK taxpayers are affording coppers their own iPads. One service force has spent more than £100,000 of taxpayer money on gadgets.
Hertfordshire Police splashed £102,573 on iPads and computers in the last four years, reports The Advertiser: “In the current financial year alone, £46,461 has been spent on 55 HP 2760P computers and £16,309 on 33 Apple iPads. Last year, 49 Apple iPads were purchased at a cost of £21,976.”
Ok, computers I can understand. We all need computers. But what does a police force do with 82 iPads?! Well at least now they will not be able to download Flappy Bird anymore.
Chief inspector Damien Kennedy, who is paid to try to make efficiencies through technology for the force, said that the devices could end up saving time and money, as police officers can do more while mobile.
Fine, I understand that. That’s great. But as Matthew Sinclair from the Tax Payers’ Alliance pointed out: “The tablets are a premium product with a premium price tag.”
Quite right. Could the force have halved the expenditure by getting something that runs on Android? Or did they just really need shiny Apple products?
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