Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Merced sheriff faces losing crucial funding

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Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 03:21:52 -0400

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7084176p-8017204c.html

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Merced sheriff faces losing crucial funding

Cpl. Rik Blodgett shows off, from left, the old radio batteries, the new radios and the bulky old radios at Sandy Mush Correctional Facility.

MIKE CONWAY/MERCED COUNTY BUREAU

By MIKE CONWAY
BEE STAFF WRITER

Published: July 7, 2003, 06:02:31 AM PDT

MERCED -- In the old days, radio reception inside the Merced County Jail got so bad, correctional officers were issued a whistle to blow in case of trouble. Radios got better over the years, but reception was still spotty in some parts of the jail.

"We would be 75 yards away (from the control center) and they couldn't hear us because of all the metal and concrete," said Sgt. Mike Sofranek.

A new $100,000 radio system that uses a repeater perched atop the jail building now blankets the cells with radio reception. The funds also included a new radio system for the Sandy Mush Correctional Facility.

"They sure work a lot better," said Cpl. Rik Blodgett. "They go a lot further in distance and definitely are a lot lighter on the belt."

The sheriff's department bought the radio system with money from the Local Assistance for Rural and Small County Law Enforcement grants, a program for the 38 counties in the state with populations under 260,000 people. Merced County has received $500,000 for each of the past two years. Now the grants may be in jeopardy.

"It's on the chopping block because of the state budget," said Sheriff Mark Pazin. "The lack of planning on the state's part could become an emergency on our part."

The money can be used virtually anywhere the department needs it. It's funding the positions of a dispatcher, two deputy sheriff's cadets and a legal transcriptionist.

The money bought a bus that was converted into a van for the dive team and another for the SWAT team. It bought a rotating camera for the jail, night vision equipment and a Zodiac boat for rescue work.

"The money really helps out this department," Pazin said. "We wouldn't be able to do these things without that money."

The 38 sheriffs who may lose the funding are lobbying Sacramento to keep the money in the state's budget, Pazin said.

Pazin said the jail was long overdue for new radios. "They were sorely needed," he said. "Correctional officers were always scrambling for one radio that worked," he said.

Finding parts to fix the Motorola STXs was difficult, and the batteries did not keep their charges for long. The new radios, Motorola EX 500s, are the same size as the batteries that powered the older model.

The repeater system, which essentially boosts the power of the radios, provides coverage into the dead zones inside the jail. Since it's on top of the jail, the radio signals are able to penetrate through the concrete, rebar and steel jail cells.

Bee staff writer Mike Conway can be reached at 381-0208 or [email-masked].

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