Strathclyde Police is the first force in Britain to trial the new "mobile data system", which will sees traditional paper notebooks binned in favour of electronic pads.

Officers will now be able to take down witness statements and accident reports on the high-tech device, which will then be downloaded on to a computer.

It is hoped the new technology will save officers around one hour per shift by cutting out the manual logging of information.

And digital screens being installed on police car dashboards will provide officers with access to all the information they need while on the go.

The Govan unit in Glasgow is the first to use the new system.

A training programme is schedule to run until the end of March by which time over 140 officers will be qualified to use the gadgetry.

Police constable Iain Smith is one of the officers training the unit to use the pads, and said the move would help police better serve the public.

He said: "The majority of time the police officer goes to an incident and has to note details down in a notebook and then returns to the office and completes a lot of forms.

"This allows us to save that repetition, so the police officer will be out on the beat and visible to the public more."

Speaking at today's launch, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill hailed the initiative: "This will allow our officers to work smarter, to increase their presence in our communities and to allow them to do the excellent services they do already even better and with even more hours out on the street."

Deputy chief constable Ricky Gray said: "This innovative step forward sees the force at the forefront of modern day policing, using state of the art technology.

"One of the biggest benefits which will come from this initiative is a real impact on bureaucracy, freeing up time for additional patrolling."