Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Police finally get what they deserve - new radios

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 05:23:20 -0400

Police finally get what they deserve - new radios

Terri Miles, Editor, As I See It... August 21, 2003

 It seems like yesterday, but it's been more than a year since I was invited to
ride along with Woodbridge police Officer Matt O'Neil. The purpose was to witness
for myself just how inadequate the police radio system really was.

Many readers said they still remember the column in which I described the horror I
felt as O'Neil left the patrol car to investigate an open door in a building off
Bradley Road.

After riding with him for nearly an hour on that stormy night, I knew that there
was no way he would be able to call for help on his portable radio if something
was really wrong.

Woodbridge had so many dead spots throughout the town that I'm still amazed that
the officers could effectively do their jobs.

Dispatchers told me they often were frightened for the patrol officers. Much of
the time, they could not hear them, nor could they be heard, out in the field -
and even as close as the headquarters back parking lot.

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to ride with Sgt. Brian McCarthy and write a
long-awaited follow up story about the improvements in radio communication at the
department.

Luckily for me, the ride-along was scheduled for 5 p.m., and the nation had just
begun to experience its worst blackout in history. Some Woodbridge residents were
affected by the power outage, including the Police Department, which ran on
generator power for a while.

I was able to see the professional manner in which dispatchers Craig Arpino and
Cheryl Tompkins dealt with numerous false fire and burglar alarms, routine phone
calls and officers on patrol during this very busy time.

Lieutenant Jeffrey Leiby said the new radio system was badly needed and a long
time coming.

"I've heard positive feedback from everyone," Leiby told me. "[Our communication]
is leaps and bounds above where it was before."

He said he was relieved that the "guys" were safer when they went on patrol.

McCarthy brought me to most of the same areas where I had gone with O'Neil last
year.

Throughout the ride we could hear the dispatchers and other officers on the patrol
car radio. McCarthy shut off the car radio and turned on his portable - the
clarity of every call was, well, uplifting.

"The portables work," McCarthy told me. "The key thing is when we call dispatch or
other officers, they can hear us."

At about 5:43 p.m., McCarthy was dispatched to a nearby neighborhood on a
suspicious activity call. Two officers were on the scene and thought it was
important enough to have a supervisor join them.

When we arrived, the situation was troubling - but I haven't yet received
clearance to divulge the nature of the call.

Needless to say, the ride-along was over. I was shuttled back to my car as Lt.
Leiby made his way over there and the officers secured the scene.

I wasn't in the field for a long time, but it was long enough to say - without
reservation - that the police and citizens of Woodbridge are safer now than they
were a year ago.

The simulcast system is a tremendous success and just what the department needed.

Personally, after experiencing the terrible reception these officers once had to
live with, I am relieved to know that they finally have good communications
capability.

This column represents the opinion of Amity Observer Editor Terri Miles and does
not necessarily reflect the views of Hometown Publications.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1342&dept_id=433252&newsid=10043886&PAG=461&rfi=9

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