Kent Police's latest tool in the fight against crime is a James Bond-style car with interactive voice-activated controls.

The new patrol car is the most technologically-advanced police vehicle in the country with a touch screen and voice-controlled dashboard to access the internet and control sirens and lights.

Some of the futuristic features of the Volvo T5 include a global tracking system and the ability to send and receive text messages.

Chief Inspector Paul Brandon said: "We have donated enormous time and energy to provide our officers with tomorrow's tools today.

"It's like a police station on wheels. It has everything you would have in a police station except it's highly mobile.

"If we see somebody who looks dodgy we can point a camera at them and see if they are known criminals.

"It will ensure we are in the best position to target and arrest criminals."

The car is also fitted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment, which can check 23 million DVLA and police computer records in a second.

Kent Police's head of engineering Mike Miller said: "Our objective was to give immediate access to the entire range of police databases."

It has been developed in partnership with Croydon-based technology company Futronics, which pioneered the ANPR system for the DVLA's new road tax-spotting Stingray cameras.

Based at the traffic unit in Coldharbour, it will be available for duties across the county. Kent Police will trial the prototype for a few months and will be looking to expand its fleet in the future. Futronics is hoping to develop systems for other forces, including the Met.

November 6, 2001 12:45