THE controversial police radio system Airwave has been given the green light for a national roll-out -- despite being plagued by problems.

The announcement by BT and project managers from the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) that Airwave passed the pilot stage in Lancashire means forces throughout the country will be taking up the system.

Greater Manchester Police will be the next force to switch over and is planned to be up and running well in time for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Police claim the unique benefits of the digital system will help forces to improve the effectiveness of policing across the country.

However union bosses say they are still concerned about the system's coverage and some design flaws.

Lancashire Federation Chairman Steve Edwards said: "Airwave was touted before being launched as the communications answer that would advance police work immensely but we still have, even in divisions which are fully "live", areas of poor or no reception."

A spokesman for Motorola said they were working to iron out the reception problems, but admitted reception would always be a problem inside some buildings.

The spokesman said they were also not convinced by concerns raised that the radios could cause dangerous levels of radiation.

Mr Edwards added that some officers had reported design flaws such as the positioning of the panic button on top of the radio sets.

Claimed benefits of Airwave include background noise that can hamper radio communication being filtered out and, for the first time, encryption means officers can be confident that criminals can no longer listen in to police conversations.

In the future, additional benefits such as automatic vehicle and person location will ensure that control rooms are aware of every officer's whereabouts, whilst emergency buttons on the handsets allow officers to call for urgent backup. In the longer term, the Airwave service will have the capability to provide officers with direct access to local and national databases including the Police National Computer.

The Lancashire Pilot, which began in March this year, has tested every facet of Airwave with more than a million coverage checks carried out throughout the Lancashire region.

In addition to the live operational use of the service by around 2,500 Lancashire Constabulary officers, some 250 representatives from forces throughout Britain were invited to the region to see for themselves how Airwave fared during scenario tests before the pilot went live. These scripted operational role-plays covered all aspects of police work. In all of these tests, ranging from 140mph speed tests to highlight speech clarity and other tests held in car parks, lifts and factories, Airwave met with strong approval.

One senior police observer commented that the service was like taking away a clapped out fifteen-year-old car and replacing it with a brand new Jaguar.

David Brindle, project director, Lancashire Constabulary pilot, said: "Airwave is by far the best radio system we've ever had and we believe it is the right way forward for the police service. We are already experiencing some very genuine benefits and it provides us with the platform for many innovations in the future. As with any pilot, we experienced some teething problems and a few of these are still being dealt with but, by working in close partnership, we've already overcome many of the challenges that the project presented."

Jeff Parris, general manager of BT Quadrant, said: "We're delighted that the Lancashire trial has measured up to our expectations. Achieving the successful implementation of such a complex system in just over a year is testament to the work of Lancashire Constabulary, BT, PITO and our partners Motorola and TRW. We look forward to progressing with the roll-out to deliver a world-class service to Britain's police and public safety organisations."

PITO's director of Airwave, Martha Wooldridge added: "We're delighted that the pilot has been signed off after so much hard work by all concerned."