Todd,
They're probably using the County Sheriff channels. I know it's that way up here in Jefferson County (Watertown) now. The State Police dispatch frequencies are no where near as busy as they were 5 years ago.
Mike
That's pretty much the case state wide. SP's in Monroe County started to blend in back in the 1990's when Rochester PD contracted with the SP's for coverage on the expressways within the city limits.
When the SP's issued laptops to their troopers, they were to be integrated with whatever MDT system the local counties are using. In Monroe County, they are all interfaced into the county-wide data system.
Same in Ontario, but on a more all-encompassing scale. When Ontario County went E-9-1-1, the Sheriff dispatch and City of Canandaigua dispatch were merged. At some point after that, Ontario County 9-1-1 also began dispatching the SP cars 24/7 using the sheriff channels and the SP dispatchers were transferred into Ontario County's office and cross-trained. They functioned identically to any other dispatcher in the place, dispatching police, fire, and ems plus taking 9-1-1 calls..
And the SP units assigned to Ontario County have Ontario County MDT radios and interfaces in their cars. They are dispatched just like any other district car within the county.
The old history is that the SP's were not always so blended with local police and sheriff operations. In some counties, they were nearly locked out, and in others, they were the only road patrol available.
