Men in blue link up by bluetooth in Bognor

The system will harness the latest technology to transmit crime prevention advice and witness appeals straight to individuals' handsets. Anyone with a Bluetooth handset which is active, within a set distance, will receive the messages.

Bluetooth has the unique ability, unlike other media, to enable information to get to individuals when they are out shopping or have just parked their vehicles to alert them to the potential crime risks.

Switched on last monthwith a limited range, the message range will soon be extended to a kilometre radius of the laptop computer being used to send the information.

This will be mainly kept in the town's police station in London Road. But it could also be taken in a police car to a location where an assault or serious accident had occurred to target potential witnesses as they passed the site of the incident.

The service is the brainchild of Sgt Craig Wilkie. It has the potential to transform police communications with residents. He realised how the Bluetooth technology was being used by companies to promote special offers in their stores to potential shoppers as they were passing.

Research showed that some other UK police forces had benefited from harnessing the power of the airwaves.

A bid to the Arun crime prevention and reduction partnership impressed its members enough to release funding to spend 500-600 on a laptop and the software needed to send out the messages.

"This will really help us to get our message out to the public about anything we want," he explained.

"It could be advice about keeping purses safe in the town centre in the daytime, guarding against tool thefts in the evening and then about drink driving at night.

"One police force which has used this technology said it had increased its public communications by 400 per cent overnight.

But the technology will ensure only one message about each topic will be received by a handset a day. This will avoid users being repeatedly pestered by the same comments.

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