"The 800 megahertz digital system is the same one that Macomb County Sheriff's officials are planning to install for $13 million to cover their patrolled areas of the county. It could be in place by 2006"
While Warren may not be MPSCS yet, it is my impression that once Macomb County comes online that Warren will intergrate their system as another MPSCS Sub-System.
By Tony Scotta
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
A terrorist attack occurs in Macomb County and five zealous police and fire agencies respond, barking in radio calls for additional help to their colleagues from other departments on scene.
The problem: The radios are incompatible and work as a barrier rather than an aid.
It's a scenario Warren Police Commissioner James Vohs said is a real problem, but one his city has been assigned $5.9 million to help fix -- at least locally.
The city has been appointed the lead agency to establish a unified communications system for emergency crews in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, Lapeer and Livingston counties, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Carl Levin, D-Detroit, announced Thursday.
"It's going to allow cities and county officials to get on the same radio system so that we can move information to everybody on the same level," said Vohs, who had previously served as Warren's police chief for six years.
"Right now, for instance, Warren is operating on an 800 megahertz analog system, while the county is operating on an even lower bandwidth. T
he real problem comes in if we were to have a natural disaster or terrorist attack and everyone showed up to help. Nobody could really talk to each other (on one system)."
The federal monies, part of the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services program, or COPS, were given to 23 communities nationwide that submitted grant applications. The grant specifications had challenged applicants to demonstrate ways in which new technologies and operating methods could better communications.
In all, the department doled out $80 million this year, but cities must provide a 25 percent match for the funds.
Warren officials plan to keep about $4 million of the grant to upgrade their 800 megahertz analog radio system to a $4.8 million digital system, Vohs said. The Warren share will have to be approved by city officials, but Vohs believes it will pass muster because the current system will be obsolete in a couple of years anyway.
The 800 megahertz digital system is the same one that Macomb County Sheriff's officials are planning to install for $13 million to cover their patrolled areas of the county. It could be in place by 2006.
"To me, it's a no-brainer," Vohs said. "If city officials vote it down now, they essentially throw away $4 million because we'll need to buy it sooner or later. We'd rather buy it now on 20 cents on the dollar."
The rest of the grant, to be doled out by Warren, will likely include $1 million to Oakland County to upgrade their radio units, and other smaller awards for upgrades in the five-county area. The overall proposal was to tackle $8 million in identified, needed communications flaws in the region, Vohs said.
"This will not solve the entire five-county communications problem, but it's a start," Vohs said.
Sens. Levin and Stabenow both agreed the monies are an important first step.
"I personally have heard the stories from our first responders in this region who tell of fire captains wearing four different radios around their necks in order to communicate with neighboring responders and agencies," Levin said. "This grant will address the glaring lack of communication challenging the region's first responders and as a result will significantly contribute to our security."
Said Stabenow: "This grant for Warren will aid the southeast Michigan region, and it will help set standards and resolve problems that will benefit communities across the state and nation."
