khthomas1008
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From Bloomington Herald Times:
Communication between local police agencies has gotten a little easier with the addition of 800-megahertz radios for city police.
The Bloomington police department was the last agency in the county to convert to the new digital radios. Now, in the event of an emergency, radio communications between city, county and state will better connect the agencies with each other to relay critical information.
The change began about three years ago when Indiana State Police converted to the 800-MHz channels. Public information Sgt. Curt Durnil said state police benefited from not only improved clarity but the ability to hear other state police posts.
That ability to keep lines of communication open is particularly helpful because Morgan County state police troopers are dispatched from the Putnamville post.
“We’re able to program all the other frequencies into our radios,” Durnil said. “Troopers can hear what’s happening. It’s been wonderful, and it’s one of those things you wonder what you did without it.”
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office transitioned onto the 800-MHz channels in late 2007. Chief Deputy Mike Pershing said that in the past, different agencies could only hear their own transmissions. If the agencies wanted to talk with each other, dispatchers were needed to relay critical information between departments.
“It’s super. When utilized properly, it enhances our objectives and what’s expected of us,” Pershing said.
City officers made the switch about two weeks ago. Part of the delay for city police was money needed to buy both mobile radios for the patrol cars and portable radios for the officer to carry.
A few years ago, city received a grant from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, but there was only enough money to buy 35 radios for a department that needed 105, according to Jeff Schemmer, communications manager for the Monroe County Central Emergency Dispatch Center.
“The radios were very expensive,” Schemmer said.
The radios chosen by the state were very specific and cost about $4,000 each, Schemmer said.
Last year, the department secured a grant from the government with the help of U.S. Rep. Baron Hill.
The city wanted to buy both mobile (car-mounted) and portable radios for each officer. Capt. Joe Qualters explained that the mobile radios are more powerful and can be used in situations where the portable radios might not be strong enough to communicate.
“From a street officer’s perspective, there are some officer safety benefits to having a mobile versus a portable radio,” Qualters said.
In the event of an emergency, all area police agencies would be able to tune into a special mutual aid channel which would allow incident commanders to talk to each other. The commanders would then use their own police frequencies to talk back and forth with their respective officers. The radios will also come in handy when officers help other agencies. For example, Schemmer said Bloomington police officers who helped in Columbus during the 2007 floods were able to zoom in on Columbus’ frequency.
The change will also give officers wider coverage area if it becomes necessary to leave the county. Schemmer said previous radio communications were restricted by the towers. Now they can move across county lines while maintaining contact with dispatch in Bloomington.
That freedom is helpful for other agencies such as Indiana University police. Capt. Jerry Minger said he can communicate with other IU campuses and maintain contact with Bloomington if he is out of town. He said not all of IU’s campuses are on the 800-mhz system, but that will change as other campuses update equipment. He said IUPD officers are also able to get further from campus while maintaining radio contact with their dispatchers.
“Before with the VHF system, we had maybe a seven-mile radius from campus,” he said.
The change has made it difficult for the public who may have been able to purchase relatively inexpensive equipment to hear the local police. Fire and ambulance traffic can still be heard on the old system, but all police agency channels are mute with the exception of IUPD. Because it took a while for the department to acquire all the necessary radios, a repeater was installed to broadcast radio traffic to both the new and old radio systems. Now that all the equipment is in place, the repeater will soon be silenced, Minger said.
One of the first tests for city’s new radio system will be the planned disaster drill on Wednesday. The drill will involve all of Monroe County’s law enforcement, fire and emergency medical organizations.
So far, Bloomington police officers have experienced better coverage. Qualters said the old system had dead spots, including inside College Mall and Bloomington Hospital, which meant officers needed to use their cell phones to call dispatch. Although there are still a few kinks in the system, reaction to the change has been positive.
“It’s got its benefits,” Qualters said.
Communication between local police agencies has gotten a little easier with the addition of 800-megahertz radios for city police.
The Bloomington police department was the last agency in the county to convert to the new digital radios. Now, in the event of an emergency, radio communications between city, county and state will better connect the agencies with each other to relay critical information.
The change began about three years ago when Indiana State Police converted to the 800-MHz channels. Public information Sgt. Curt Durnil said state police benefited from not only improved clarity but the ability to hear other state police posts.
That ability to keep lines of communication open is particularly helpful because Morgan County state police troopers are dispatched from the Putnamville post.
“We’re able to program all the other frequencies into our radios,” Durnil said. “Troopers can hear what’s happening. It’s been wonderful, and it’s one of those things you wonder what you did without it.”
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office transitioned onto the 800-MHz channels in late 2007. Chief Deputy Mike Pershing said that in the past, different agencies could only hear their own transmissions. If the agencies wanted to talk with each other, dispatchers were needed to relay critical information between departments.
“It’s super. When utilized properly, it enhances our objectives and what’s expected of us,” Pershing said.
City officers made the switch about two weeks ago. Part of the delay for city police was money needed to buy both mobile radios for the patrol cars and portable radios for the officer to carry.
A few years ago, city received a grant from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, but there was only enough money to buy 35 radios for a department that needed 105, according to Jeff Schemmer, communications manager for the Monroe County Central Emergency Dispatch Center.
“The radios were very expensive,” Schemmer said.
The radios chosen by the state were very specific and cost about $4,000 each, Schemmer said.
Last year, the department secured a grant from the government with the help of U.S. Rep. Baron Hill.
The city wanted to buy both mobile (car-mounted) and portable radios for each officer. Capt. Joe Qualters explained that the mobile radios are more powerful and can be used in situations where the portable radios might not be strong enough to communicate.
“From a street officer’s perspective, there are some officer safety benefits to having a mobile versus a portable radio,” Qualters said.
In the event of an emergency, all area police agencies would be able to tune into a special mutual aid channel which would allow incident commanders to talk to each other. The commanders would then use their own police frequencies to talk back and forth with their respective officers. The radios will also come in handy when officers help other agencies. For example, Schemmer said Bloomington police officers who helped in Columbus during the 2007 floods were able to zoom in on Columbus’ frequency.
The change will also give officers wider coverage area if it becomes necessary to leave the county. Schemmer said previous radio communications were restricted by the towers. Now they can move across county lines while maintaining contact with dispatch in Bloomington.
That freedom is helpful for other agencies such as Indiana University police. Capt. Jerry Minger said he can communicate with other IU campuses and maintain contact with Bloomington if he is out of town. He said not all of IU’s campuses are on the 800-mhz system, but that will change as other campuses update equipment. He said IUPD officers are also able to get further from campus while maintaining radio contact with their dispatchers.
“Before with the VHF system, we had maybe a seven-mile radius from campus,” he said.
The change has made it difficult for the public who may have been able to purchase relatively inexpensive equipment to hear the local police. Fire and ambulance traffic can still be heard on the old system, but all police agency channels are mute with the exception of IUPD. Because it took a while for the department to acquire all the necessary radios, a repeater was installed to broadcast radio traffic to both the new and old radio systems. Now that all the equipment is in place, the repeater will soon be silenced, Minger said.
One of the first tests for city’s new radio system will be the planned disaster drill on Wednesday. The drill will involve all of Monroe County’s law enforcement, fire and emergency medical organizations.
So far, Bloomington police officers have experienced better coverage. Qualters said the old system had dead spots, including inside College Mall and Bloomington Hospital, which meant officers needed to use their cell phones to call dispatch. Although there are still a few kinks in the system, reaction to the change has been positive.
“It’s got its benefits,” Qualters said.
