POLICE officers in Barrow could soon be working at the heart of the community rather than in police stations as part of a new scheme currently being trialled.

New technology being currently tested could allow officers to work in places such as cafes and libraries in an effort to boost visibility and see police ‘embedded in the community’.

Inspector Jim Bailey, of Barrow Police, said he was testing a mobile device that could soon be used by officers to file paperwork and take statements away from stations.

He said a number of forces across the country were discussing mobile policing technology to free officers away from their station desks.

Insp Bailey said he wanted to see his officers working in the library or in McDonald’s.

“Our big drive in policing at the moment is to use the right technology to get people out of the police station,” he said.

“The police station will be somewhere you start with, you might come in for your lunch, but you’ll finish there and that will be it.

“The technology has to be right. We have tried many times in the past to do this but we’ve not be able to get the right technology.

“We are confident the piece of kit we are trialling at the moment will enable cops and PCSOs to leave the police station.”

A screen mirroring kit is said to be one way of allowing cops to work away from their desk, with phones plugging into a laptop-like device to allow officers to work on their mobiles.

Insp Bailey added: “What I want to see is them doing their pieces of work in the library or in McDonald’s.

“We want them in those kinds of places that you embed yourself in the community.

“No longer will we be yo-yo-ing in and out of police stations.”