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Campbell Council considers joining digital police dispatch system
By SARAH Lehr
CAMPBELL
Due to failure of its current setup, the city is looking into joining a digital police-dispatch system utilized by Boardman, Austintown and Mahoning County.
City council reviewed dispatch proposals during a special meeting Monday. The issue first came to council’s attention after the police department lost its dispatch signal during a storm May 14.
Mike Romeo, who provides technology support for the police department, urged city leaders to join a digital system, saying any repairs to the existing system would be stop-gap measures.
“As I see it, this isn’t a wanting issue,” Romeo said. “This is a safety issue.”
The new equipment recommended by Romeo would cost the city about $123,993, though Motorola Solutions would offer a 40 percent discount if the city made its order before June 24. Romeo estimated the city would need to spend more than $100,000 on repairs if it kept its current analog system.
Phase one of the shift to a digital trunk dispatch system cost $1.7 million, split between Austintown and Boardman townships, Boardman Police Chief Jack Nichols said. Mahoning County also paid about $2.5 million. Nichols said system maintenance was free the first year and $50,000 ($25,000 per township) the second year.
The system is designed so that other departments would be able to pay fees and tie in, as the Mill Creek Park Police Department has done.
Though Campbell could keep its own dispatchers if it made the transition, Mayor Nick Phillips said he would favor using Boardman dispatchers to save money.
The digital system includes the option of encryption. Boardman police encrypt all dispatch activity. Austintown police turn on encryption only for sensitive communications.
Encryption can serve as way to avoid alerting suspects to the arrival of police, preserve ongoing investigations and protect personal information, such as Social Security numbers, from identity thieves. Open government advocates – including members of the media who listen to scanners for breaking news – express concern about the public’s right to know about police activity as it is happening.