It's not quite as small as Dick Tracy's wristwatch, but almost. Cops on patrol in New Westminster, B.C., will soon be able to tap into police data bases using a BlackBerry wireless communications device and software from Xwave, which already provides a laptop version used by the RCMP nationally and by several local forces in Western Canada.

Xwave's OnPatrol system allows users to send and receive secure e-mails and query national police and motor vehicle databases using a BlackBerry, which combines features of a computer and a two-way pager.

The New Westminster police force will begin field trials of OnPatrol in about two weeks, the company said.

Xwave, one of the Aliant group of companies, demonstrated OnPatrol at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference in Saskatoon.