Tablets play role in law enforcement

Tablet computers are not only making their way into the home and the office. Increasingly, the devices are also being found among law enforcement agencies, in their squad cars and administrative buildings, among other areas.

Though the tablet itself has little function for actually deterring crime, it can be a useful tool for handling some of the administrative tasks police officers perform. For example, a patrol unit may use the devices to speed up the incident reporting process. Rather than write everything by hand, a police officer can simply enter all relevant material into the tablet, then send the information through the necessary channels to the department's databases.

Given the tablet's slight frame, it is also convenient to carry around in a squad car, as it will not take up much space in the front seat. This is in contrast to many setups seen today, where a bulky laptop sits up front, taking up more space than necessary.

Law enforcement agencies around the world seem to be embracing the tablet. The Community Policing Units in Tampines and Bukit Merah East, Singapore, for example, have passed out tablets to their officers in an effort to encourage them to share information while on patrol and reduce the amount of time it takes to perform administrative tasks, Channel News Asia reports.

As the tablet's functions continue to expand, the devices are likely to be seen helping professionals in a wide range of industries.