Science and technology

• In 1901, Fingerprint Branch was set up. The National Fingerprint System kept a record of fingerprints from everyone arrested.
• In 1909, police bicycles were introduced to allow officers to pursue criminals more quickly.
• By the 1930s, police cars became quite common, and the 999 telephone number was introduced.
• CCTV was first used in 1960.
• Breathalysers were introduced in 1967 to test drivers’ blood alcohol levels.
• In 1980, the Police National Computer was launched, which held the records of 25million people.
• In 1988, the first murder convictions were gained used DNA samples. This was an example of the growing importance of forensic science.
• Speed cameras were introduced in 1992.
• In 1995, the National Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) and National DNA Database were set up to share information. This is an example of data management.
• More recent developments include mass video surveillance and biometric screening.