Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Police Radios Tune Out Safety

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 05:52:48 -0500

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-licops1123,0,5586815.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea

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Police Radios Tune Out Safety

Report says aging
devices put
public, cops at risk

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Photos

Nassau County Police Officer Michael Bonsignore using radio (Newsday Photo / Jim Peppler)

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By Michael Rothfeld

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Nassau County's police radio system is so dysfunctional that officers resort to using their cell phones in emergencies because they often have no other way to communicate in shopping malls, tunnels, parking garages, or even outside on patrol.

The equipment is so antiquated, with components dating back two decades, that parts are out of production and the county pays Motorola nearly $850,000 a year in maintenance, with two full-time employees implementing Band-Aid solutions.

And police radio channels are so overburdened that officers can become confused when responding to crimes because too many people are speaking at once on their radios about different subjects.

Such flaws imperil the lives of officers and residents, should a disaster occur, concludes a draft of a report commissioned by the Nassau County Police Department in an effort to revamp the radio system.

"The continued use of these aging systems puts public safety providers of Nassau County, the public, and the county government itself, at increased risk,” wrote the Delaware-based consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, calling the technology "obsolete.”

Besides identifying large swaths of the county where radios don't work, the report, commissioned last year, also found that Nassau's system is largely incompatible with systems used by more than 20 area law enforcement agencies, including Suffolk County, forcing dispatchers to dial by phone in emergencies to reach other jurisdictions. The county only has one secure radio channel and many officers don't know how to access it, allowing potential eavesdropping by criminals. Portable radios lack battery indicators, making it impossible to tell when they are about to lose power.

Police and county officials said the report is still under revision and have declined to release it. Newsday obtained a draft that recommends various solutions, such as purchasing a new system, which could cost upwards of $40 million and might not be ready until 2006.

Top aides to County Executive Thomas Suozzi, trying to overcome a financial crisis since taking office in January, said replacing the radio system is a priority. They hope federal grants may help pay the tab.

Difficulties in Nassau have been brewing since 1996, when the Police Benevolent Association filed a grievance over the radios, complaining they didn't work. Three years ago, an arbitrator ordered the county to resolve the problems. "The police administration should have fought to get this equipment repaired,” said Gary DelaRaba, the PBA president.

Police Department officials responded it has taken time both because of financial concerns and a desire not to buy technology that would soon be outdated. "It's not as if it's unable to function at this point, but I think we're all in agreement that we want to rectify the outstanding issues,” said Insp. Monty Gerbush, commander of the Communications Bureau.

Law enforcement and emergency services agencies have begun scrutinizing their abilities to communicate since the World Trade Center disaster. Analysts have cited radio equipment failures as contributing to the death toll there.

Nassau police use voice radios in their cars and handheld units on foot, which perform most poorly, especially in buildings, because they have the least power. Small computer terminals in patrol cars for dispatching 911 calls also rely on radio waves.

The police have not reported anyone being killed or seriously injured due to malfunctioning radios. But on one occasion an officer's radio failed for five minutes during a pursuit on the Long Island Expressway and was still not working when the suspect's vehicle rammed his patrol car, according to a county filing with the Federal Communications Commission. Another officer could not call for assistance after encountering a burglar in a darkened retail outlet.

"If the World Trade Center taught us anything, it's that you need an updated, reliable radio system,” said Legis. Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin) who heads the Legislature's public safety committee.

In July, the FCC granted Nassau the right to utilize 47 additional channels in the 500 megahertz range, which police officials say was a major step towards modernizing the system.

The administration is planning to request that county lawmakers appropriate $450,000 for Booz Allen Hamilton to complete the next phase of the project, involving the design of a new radio system.

The report recommends a new system for police, which besides improving communication could track police cars and beam fingerprints and driver's license photos to officers on the street. Another option would place police on a second county
radio system already operated by the Department of Public Works.

Officer Michael Bonsignore, a PBA delegate, said he and others have to drive their patrol cars in different directions within the 8th Precinct just to hear what is being said over their radios. "It's very difficult and you miss things. Sometimes you'll hear the locations, and you sometimes don't know what you're responding to.”

Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.

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