In an attempt to try and reduce the number of people calling local police forces with non-urgent inquiries, the Home Office has launched a website providing the answers to over 500 common queries. The Police FAQs database, launched yesterday by Hazel Blears MP, includes information about missing persons, court appearances, speeding tickets, lost property and anti-social behaviour.

Speaking at the launch Blears explained how the service would save the police time and money by answering online the public’s most common qusetions about UK criminal law and policing. In addition to the FAQ, the website also contains links to the 43 police forces in England and Wales, and tools are in place on the site to allow each police force the opportunity to add specific local information to its regional profile.

As reported on kablenet, the site is part of the existing Police National Legal Database (PNLD) and there are already plans to expand the contents over the coming months, perhaps also making it available via internet kiosks for those without home internet access.