PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - When the police commissioner and Fraternal Order of Police president agree that something is wrong, it's a good bet that something's wrong.And that something is the $52 million police radio system installed by Motorola - a system with a troubled history of going down and leaving police officers without communications.
Both Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and FOP President John McNesby are adamant that the system needs to be fixed.
The safety of officers, and by extension the public they serve, is the issue.
The problem is that Motorola has had years to fix the problems with the balky system and it's still not fixed.
Do these kinds of problems plague other police departments? Is Philadelphia the only city where these issues keep coming back?
The police who put their lives on the line to protect us want answers, and we who pay the bills for $52 million boondoggles want answers as well.
Perhaps the city needs to look beyond Motorola, file a suit to recover whatever money it can for a system that is unreliable, and find a company that can provide a reliable radio system.
Police departments across the nation have moved from 400 megaHertz systems to 800 megaHertz systems that provide a measure of security and reliability, at least on paper.
The old 400 mHz system was aged, but it had one large advantage over the newer system; it worked.
The city is giving Motorola notice that the system needs to be fixed, and soon. The problem with that is that there have been four years to make the system work, and it still breaks down.
RoxReview
Both Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and FOP President John McNesby are adamant that the system needs to be fixed.
The safety of officers, and by extension the public they serve, is the issue.
The problem is that Motorola has had years to fix the problems with the balky system and it's still not fixed.
Do these kinds of problems plague other police departments? Is Philadelphia the only city where these issues keep coming back?
The police who put their lives on the line to protect us want answers, and we who pay the bills for $52 million boondoggles want answers as well.
Perhaps the city needs to look beyond Motorola, file a suit to recover whatever money it can for a system that is unreliable, and find a company that can provide a reliable radio system.
Police departments across the nation have moved from 400 megaHertz systems to 800 megaHertz systems that provide a measure of security and reliability, at least on paper.
The old 400 mHz system was aged, but it had one large advantage over the newer system; it worked.
The city is giving Motorola notice that the system needs to be fixed, and soon. The problem with that is that there have been four years to make the system work, and it still breaks down.
RoxReview