Calaveras County To Radically Upgrade Communications System

San Andreas, CA — Thanks to two grants totaling $1.1 million dollars the Calaveras County Sheriff´s Department will, in the next 18-24 months, totally upgrade the radio communications system between patrol cars and the Dispatch Center.

Special Operations Bureau Commander Clay Hawkins says the grants are coming from the COPS Technical Grant Program and the Public Safety Interoperability Communications Grant Program.

The system would consist of three microwave receiving sites in Calaveras County in addition to one in Alpine County. The sites will be combined with a modem frequency through an antenna in 26 patrol cars.

The sytem will allow patrol vehicles to access pertinent information through an on-board computer rather than having to contact the Dispatch Center. Hawkins says this will prove to be a 20 percent timesaver for the Dispatch Center in San Andreas.

Hawkins adds the proposal will be presented to the Board of Supervisors next month and it is hoped the system will be in place in a year and a half. With the Alpine County connection Hawkins feels the first Central Sierra County Sheriff´s Office backbone will be established.

Written by Bill Johnson