Besides the state of NJ wasting money, amongst other things, they want their dispatch encrypted it appears. I don’t think that’s an option on County. At least not the current UHF system.
The county does not use encryption on its regular dispatch channels... Knowing the politics in Hanover township this might be there ulterior motive.
There are several encrypted talkgroups on the County system. LE SECURE 1 and 2, heck even EMS has a secure talkgroup. The system is capable of it but the County (like many others) is doing it the right way for the units and times that it is called for.
Correct, the County does not use encryption on their dispatch channels. I believe it should stay that way. But the capability is there. My argument was the cost factor. They could save a ton of money by switching to County dispatch. Fire and EMS already have. So if you dial 911 in Hanover the PD answers. If it’s Fire or EMS it gets transferred to County who dispatches and handles. It’s a duplication of services for the same Township that could be avoided.
If they need an encrypted tac they can simply license their current analog channel 2 for P25 and strap it. They wouldn’t even has to update their infrastructure if they ran it simplex.
The bigger issue is they can’t hop on the County system unless they give up dispatch to County. If the County allowed Departments with their own dispatch to have talkgroups on their system, they could easily switch, be P25 and have Countywide coverage instead of building their own simulcast system. They could even be encrypted if they wanted.
Instead you have Departments like Oakland since they were mentioned, who are using NJICS because Bergen won’t allow them in unless they dispatch them. Back to my whole interoperability discussion where after 9/11, Parkland, etc., we still haven’t learned.
