Local Police Taking Look At High-Tech Radio Upgrade
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Police agencies of Kosciusko County might soon be on the higher frequency of the 800 megahertz trunking system.
The 800 trunking system is state-of-the-art radio technology that will allow all police agencies statewide to communicate without having to go through dispatchers.
The current trend being used by police agencies in Kosciusko County is a VHF band with a 154 range. Lt. Bret Richardson of Warsaw Police Department said "band" is "just radio talk for frequency allocation."
The problem with the current band being used is that it is already pretty crowded. Fort Wayne uses the same one. Police officers must go through their dispatchers to communicate with another officer. If they want to communicate with an officer in another county, for instance, during an out of county pursuit, they must go through both dispatchers before they can speak with the desired officer.
The purpose of the 800 trunking system is to improve communication among all agencies statewide. This includes county, state, city and even the fire department. The officers will be able to speak directly to each other.
Winona Lake town coordinator Craig Allebach has been involved with this project since April and provided information on it. Allebach has been attending Integrated Safety Commission meetings, which awarded the grant, at least one a week, to get this project off the ground.
The introduction of the 800 trunking system in this area is part of a demonstration project made possible by an $11 million state grant. The funds were issued for the demonstration and the amount that will be spread out between, what Allebaugh termed, "the U.S. 30 corridor" and "Hoosier Land" is about $9 million.
The U.S. 30 corridor includes Kosciusko, Allen and Whitley counties. Hoosier Land includes Tippecanoe Valley and West Lafayette.
Allen County and Fort Wayne are already using the 800 trunking system and they now want to improve it.
The system works with receivers placed on various towers. These receivers link the tower units together to enable the officers to speak person-to-person, much like a cellular phone.
The demonstration is to show the Integrated Public Safety Commission that this radio system works so that the legislature will give the program more money. The goal is to get the program established and running in the U.S. 30 Corridor by Dec. 31.
Northeastern Indiana has been chosen for the project because it has the most existing tower receivers in place.
Cost to local governmenta will be for the radios and maintenance. Allebach says it will be like paying to use a cellular phone. The radios will cost about $1,500 each if the they are mobile and $3,000 for digital units.
The other costs are infrastructure costs. These are costs to provide equipment and towers and are basically the "backbone" of the project. The $9 million from the grant will be used for these costs.
There are currently 129 towers dispersed throughout the state. "They will use as many existing towers as they can," Allebach said. Some towers will need to be built.
According to Allebach no other state is doing this at the moment and the eventual goal is to have a multi-agency system throughout the state.
"This is not a done deal," Allebach said. There is still work to be done on the project and the legislature wants to see this in working order by December before it agrees to give out more money.
It is something that both Allebach and Richardson would like to see happen.
"We need to demonstrate to legislatures that we can work together," Allebach said. [[In-content Ad]]
Police agencies of Kosciusko County might soon be on the higher frequency of the 800 megahertz trunking system.
The 800 trunking system is state-of-the-art radio technology that will allow all police agencies statewide to communicate without having to go through dispatchers.
The current trend being used by police agencies in Kosciusko County is a VHF band with a 154 range. Lt. Bret Richardson of Warsaw Police Department said "band" is "just radio talk for frequency allocation."
The problem with the current band being used is that it is already pretty crowded. Fort Wayne uses the same one. Police officers must go through their dispatchers to communicate with another officer. If they want to communicate with an officer in another county, for instance, during an out of county pursuit, they must go through both dispatchers before they can speak with the desired officer.
The purpose of the 800 trunking system is to improve communication among all agencies statewide. This includes county, state, city and even the fire department. The officers will be able to speak directly to each other.
Winona Lake town coordinator Craig Allebach has been involved with this project since April and provided information on it. Allebach has been attending Integrated Safety Commission meetings, which awarded the grant, at least one a week, to get this project off the ground.
The introduction of the 800 trunking system in this area is part of a demonstration project made possible by an $11 million state grant. The funds were issued for the demonstration and the amount that will be spread out between, what Allebaugh termed, "the U.S. 30 corridor" and "Hoosier Land" is about $9 million.
The U.S. 30 corridor includes Kosciusko, Allen and Whitley counties. Hoosier Land includes Tippecanoe Valley and West Lafayette.
Allen County and Fort Wayne are already using the 800 trunking system and they now want to improve it.
The system works with receivers placed on various towers. These receivers link the tower units together to enable the officers to speak person-to-person, much like a cellular phone.
The demonstration is to show the Integrated Public Safety Commission that this radio system works so that the legislature will give the program more money. The goal is to get the program established and running in the U.S. 30 Corridor by Dec. 31.
Northeastern Indiana has been chosen for the project because it has the most existing tower receivers in place.
Cost to local governmenta will be for the radios and maintenance. Allebach says it will be like paying to use a cellular phone. The radios will cost about $1,500 each if the they are mobile and $3,000 for digital units.
The other costs are infrastructure costs. These are costs to provide equipment and towers and are basically the "backbone" of the project. The $9 million from the grant will be used for these costs.
There are currently 129 towers dispersed throughout the state. "They will use as many existing towers as they can," Allebach said. Some towers will need to be built.
According to Allebach no other state is doing this at the moment and the eventual goal is to have a multi-agency system throughout the state.
"This is not a done deal," Allebach said. There is still work to be done on the project and the legislature wants to see this in working order by December before it agrees to give out more money.
It is something that both Allebach and Richardson would like to see happen.
"We need to demonstrate to legislatures that we can work together," Allebach said. [[In-content Ad]]