Met spends £15k on talking clock.

[Energize]

I can imagine some times when looking at your phone for the time, may not be allowed or sufficiently accurate for anything that requires an accurate time for legal reasons/evidence (it might also be used to ensure everyone's phones/watches are giving the right time sometimes)..

The GPS system is free and internationally recognised as accurate. There are also many free services from universities etc that provide over the internet atomic clock synchronisation.

Either is just as accurate as the talking clock and in fact GPS is used for scientific applications because of it's accuracy.

They employ 50,000 staff members, you are talking about 30p a year for each employee has been used on phoning the talking clock.

I'm sure it's a much smaller number using it regularly than every member of staff using it once...

 

[Werewolf]

A radio controlled clock is accurate to 1 second in 1 million years, I know this because that's what the manual for my Origin Scientific one I got over 10 years ago says and that cost £15. Nowadays you get ones that speak the time as well.

Why could someone not have used common sense at the Met?!

The problem with radio controlled clocks is, that from memory they don't always work that well or inside buildings (the same problem with GPS receivers).
They are only that accurate when they pick up a time signal (the accuracy is in the atomic clocks, not the cheap radio equipped receiving ones), otherwise they rely on their own internal systems which can be off by a surprising amount when the battery is low.

Likewise you might have access to a phone, but not a computer that you know is currently in sync via a time server and mobile phone clocks can be pretty poor for time keeping.

For all we know the talking clock might be used to help setup "off site" gear that is too dumb to have automatic time setup but still requires it to be accurate to within a second or two.
So I wouldn't be surprised if, at times the quickest, and cheapest way for officers to get the correct time is to ring the talking clock - even a cheap mobile or landline can do that, whilst a GPS/RTS/Internet enabled device may not be available or cost considerably more for the odd time it might be used.

 

[Aod]

thats just a guideline though, they could ask the person beeing interviewed to read the time from the website
btw http://www.speaking-clock.com/ (says official lol doesnt seem it though )
BT should get with the time and do a website like that

yes, technically the ACPO Good Practice Guide is just guidelines, but in court if an investigation or action was not carried out in a manner as described by the guidelines your case will be dismissed quicker than you can say "cheapskate"

 

[arknor]

Likewise you might have access to a phone, but not a computer that you know is currently in sync via a time server and mobile phone clocks can be pretty poor for time keeping.

phones sync them selfs so the time is always right? mine does anyway

 

[Aod]

phones sync them selfs so the time is always right? mine does anyway

Mine doesn't. It's set to but is often wrong by more than five minutes.