Police radio upgrade gets federal boost

1/03/2004

Police radio upgrade gets federal boost
Funds for the $59K police system upgrade come from police reserve account and Homeland Security grant

By: LISA CARTER , Staff Writer

After receiving authorization from the Board of Police Commissioners in August, Madison police won the approval of the Board of Selectmen Oct. 25 to purchase a $59,000 upgrade for its radio system.
The system includes a software and hardware upgrade for analog and digital operation and two satellite receivers. Its purpose is to provide better communication between police and other public safety agencies.
Police Chief Paul Jakubson, who brought the request before the Board of Selectmen, has detailed knowledge of police radio systems, sitting on telecommunications committees at both the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Jakubson explained that the upgrade is intended to improve the department's system so it can operate in a "radio interoperability" environment, allowing police to communicate with other public safety agencies and jurisdictions.
Radio interoperability quickly became a top priority among public safety agencies on Sept. 11, 2001, after emergency personnel faced communications problems in New York City during the World Trade Center attacks.
Since then, federal funding has funneled down to the state level for a variety of emergency preparedness measures including upgrades for radio interoperability.
Jakubson said that the Madison Police Department's current system dates back to 1990 and has remained unchanged except for two transmitter/repeater units that were replaced four years ago.
"The equipment presently utilized by the Madison Police Department is not capable of operating within this radio interoperability environment," Jakubson wrote in a letter to First Selectman Tom Scarpati. "It lacks the ability to speak to 'narrow band' equipment; cannot communicate in a digital environment and is not APCO 25 (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) compliant."
Jakubson added that the department would continue to operate in the same radio frequency it has been using in recent years and would retain much of its current equipment, such as handheld radios and patrol car radios although he would seek to upgrade that equipment in the future. The new system, however, will be able to operate in both analog and digital spectrums.
"This will allow our present subscriber equipment to continue to operate while enabling the overall system to handle narrow band frequencies and prepare for new technology equipment," the chief wrote. "The two fire departments are migrating over to UHF equipment that will operate in a narrow band environment. Without this upgrade, the police equipment will not be able to interact with them."
Another advantage of the new system will be the ability to use additional channels for tactical operations, such as during a stakeout or a special event.
Funding for the $59,000 purchase will come from two sources.
Approximately $20,000 will come from a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security, while the remaining $39,000 will be fed from a police radio equipment reserve account that has been developed over several years.
Although the board favored the request, Selectman Noreen Kokoruda was concerned that Jakubson requested a bid waiver for the equipment's purchase rather than going out to bid.
Jakubson responded that while he normally engages in the bidding process, in this instance, the pricing comes from a Connecticut Department of Public Safety radio bid contract and is at least 20 percent discounted from the list price.
"We're actually making out better," said Jakubson. "Because the equipment that that contract was designed around is no longer manufactured by them so they have to provide the most current equipment that's available and yet maintain it at that particular cost."