POLICE chiefs say there could be more officers on the beat soon after a multi-million pound investment in a new communications system.

North Yorkshire Police have spent £5.4m to create a new network, which will link 43 stations across the county, and free up more staff to spend more time on the beat.

The technology will come into effect in August after the force signed a five-year contract with BT.

The Wide Area Network system will increase the current capacity by seven times, allowing officers to transmit and share information quicker and more efficiently.

The force's present system means police staff are often competing for space on a congested network, making it harder to communicate with different parts of the county.

But a pioneering integrated voice and data service will allow officers to share vital information about cases with colleagues through telephone and computers at the same time.

A BT spokeswoman said: "The five-year contract, fully serviced by BT, will provide proactive fault management, ensuring network health is checked every 15 minutes.

"Furthermore, quality of service reports will mean the requirements of police users are being met, while regular reviews carried out by BT will ensure that the force's day-to-day communications run both more smoothly and more cost efficiently."

The deal was agreed with the BT Justice and Police department, which has responsibility for providing technical support to the criminal justice system.

Paul Ramsey, head of information systems for North Yorkshire Police, said: "We are delighted to have signed this five-year contract with BT. This commitment means we will have in place a first class and comprehensive network, which gives us a robust infrastructure to build onto for the future to allow us to take advantage of developments in technology."

Andy Hudson, general manager for BT Justice and Police, said: "Apart from modernising their communications, North Yorkshire Police will also benefit from the flexibility that a comprehensive network will bring."