Launched last year in Tayside before being rolled out across Scotland, the mobile devices have saved an estimated 400,000 hours of work time.

Statements which would have been recorded in a notebook and transcribed are now typed directly into the device. Officers can now carry out their own checks, which before had to be done through the control room.

PC Garrie Watson, of Tayside Division, said the devices have been “extremely useful”.

He said: “The device allows me to save time on a daily basis in various different ways.

“After compiling a witness statement this can now be electronically copied from Pronto (digital notebook) into the Tayside Division system.

“This is a significant time-saver when compared with the paper notebook which requires statements to be manually typed and processed.

“The ability to generate crime reports and access documents and emails while protecting a scene, at custody or on mobile patrol saves me time at the end of the day when I would typically access a computer to complete my paperwork.”