Radio change cuts off some entities
Web Posted: 05/05/2004 12:00 AM CDT
Vianna Davila
San Antonio Express News
What started out as a routine traffic stop in Castle Hills a few weeks ago turned into a chase for an armed robbery suspect.
The officer had no radio communication with the San Antonio Police Department, so he didn't know the driver was the same man sought in an earlier incident on the parking lot of a nearby San Antonio pool hall.
That's because since March, the Castle Hills Police Department and SAPD have been talking on completely different radio systems.
"It's just two absolutely separate frequencies, so we can't get to them and they can't get to us," said Castle Hills Police Chief Donny Davis.
Last month, SAPD and the Bexar County Sheriff's Department revamped their entire communication system and switched to a state-of-the-art, $58 million digital communication network. The system eliminates dead spots and provides more diversity in communication capabilities within agencies and between agencies, said SAPD Capt. William Smith.
The philosophy behind the new system boils down to a concept called interoperability — the ability of public safety personnel to communicate by radio with staff from other agencies on demand and in real time.
But in its initial phases, the communication switchover in San Antonio also has led to some agency disconnection.
Castle Hills police can communicate on it only if they use compatible radios that SAPD programs for them.
Had the Castle Hills officer heard about the robbery over the radio, Davis said the situation would have had a different outcome.
"Instead of a policeman waiting with a smile, asking for your driver's license and a proof of insurance, he would have had a gun in your face," Davis said.
At a recent fight in the Edgewood School District, the response time of SAPD officers to assist district police was delayed because the call for backup had to go through a phone operator.
"It leaves us blind to other problems in the district," said Edgewood Police Chief Charlie Peña.
The only way to get back in the loop, Davis and Peña said, was to buy the same kind of radios SAPD uses.
But even if entities purchase the appropriate radios, they can't immediately program them and hook into the new system.
"The system does not have infinite capacity," Smith said, adding that a policy detailing who can tap into the system and when they can do it is being developed.
Smith said any agencies that want access to the system most likely will get it after applying for a contract with the chief of police and the joint operations committee, a city and county-run policy board for the communication system. Smith said that memorandum of understanding may be ready in the near future.
"Our primary commodity on this project has been coverage, countywide coverage. That's what we paid all these millions of dollars for," Smith said.
The city of Live Oak solved the problem by creating its own communication system, independent of the San Antonio network. It went into effect Jan. 20, 2003.
City leaders decided it was more cost-effective to purchase a new system instead of constantly replacing outdated equipment, Assistant Chief of Police Dan Pew said.
"We were hearing them better in Mexico than we were our own officers out on the street," he noted.
The system is large enough to cover the entire Metrocom area. Live Oak also dispatches for Converse, Selma and the Judson School District. Universal City also plans to connect to the system.
Alamo Heights will put up a second communications tower that will hook into the Live Oak system, but they will dispatch for themselves.
"It's very important for all of us to be on the same song sheet," Pew said.
Getting communication systems on the same page can be expensive, officials say. Radios cost about $3,200 each.
The Castle Hills City Council approved the purchase of three radios for its police force. Balcones Heights has paid for four radios through law enforcement development block grants. Helotes recently received word that it will get a grant to buy at least one.
But the price tag is hefty for agencies like the San Antonio School District police force that need to replace an entire system, said Jeff Ward, assistant chief of the SASD Police Department.
Ward said the district's radio system is so old that sometimes officers can't transmit inside the schools. Right now, he's not sure how the district will be able to afford a new system.
The recent radio disconnection is a concern for his staff because any incidents around the schools can directly affect the students.
"It's very important in a lot of regards because we frequently have situations that occur around the schools that if we're not aware of, we can't take the proper precautions," Ward said.
Without the immediate radio communication, calls for backup or alerts go from dispatcher to dispatcher and out to officers. Contact does not go from officer to officer.
Helotes Police Chief Fritz Bohne said only a couple of car chases from San Antonio have come through his city in the past three years, but that doesn't make communication with SAPD any less vital.
"We're the last city on the outskirts (of San Antonio) going out on Bandera Road. If we don't get whoever they're after stopped, it's a good chance the person's going to get away," Bohne said.
All of these entities still have contact with SAPD through the mobile data terminal, laptops in each squad car with a built-in messaging system and an information database that allows officers to run suspect cross-checks.
And police chiefs in the various suburban cities agree that San Antonio still is working out the kinks of a very green system.
"We certainly don't want to get in anybody's way," said Balcones Heights Police Chief Kenneth Menn. "Once they're up and running, we'll take it from there."
It's all a matter of working together and communicating well, he said.
"Crime doesn't stop at a city limits," he said. "If someone's doing something, it goes everywhere."
