Scotland Yard Equipping Officers With Handheld Fingerprint Devices

Mobile fingerprint scanners to be adopted by Met Police (BBC)

The Metropolitan Police is the 25th force in the UK to have adopted the devices.

"Evidence has shown that a full identification arrest can tie-up both the subject and the police officer for several hours," said the Metropolitan Police Service's assistant commissioner Mark Rowley.

"Even a traditional identity check conducted on the street can take an extended period of time to complete.

A big question, of course, is the database these mobile devices communicate with.