Officers tracked with computers

Police headquarters can monitor where officers and vehicles are

Officers policing Merseyside are being tracked by global positioning equipment at the force's headquarters.

The equipment is being used for the first time by a UK force as the area hosts the Open golf at Birkdale and the Tall Ships event in Liverpool.

Signals from transponders carried by officers and vehicles enable commanders to track staff.

Merseyside police said it "will greatly enhance the force's ability to protect the public and its officers".

The force's aim was "respond quickly and efficiently to any incidents" by knowing exactly where each officer or patrol was located.

The equipment can also be developed to be attached to police dog collars.

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne, said: "We are constantly striving to find new and innovative ways to fight the Total War on Crime.

"We will evaluate the effectiveness of this trial by looking at improvements in the way we deploy our officers to incidents and, if successful, we will consider extending the technology further into our organisation."

The same technology was used successfully during the Euro 2008 Championships and for the last three years at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.