Crews with DFW Communications constructed a 175-foot communications tower at the Forney Police Department and Justice Center on Thursday morning paving the way for a new state-of-the-art radio system – replacing their current inadequate proprietary leased system which was less than three years old.
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Forney Police Department Chief Rick Barnes spoke to inForney.com while watching the tower being raised. The old system posed serious public safety and officer safety concerns. “One of my officers could have been involved in a physical altercation and not been able to request backup,” he said.
Officers were sometimes unable to communicate on something as simple as a traffic stop, said Barnes and would often times resort to using their cell phones to communicate with dispatch.
The current system's inadequacies were highlighted on national news in August of this year when a Forney Police officer pulled over George Zimmerman on July 28, 2013, for speeding. The officer could be seen removing his radio from his belt to hold it high above his head in an attempt to gain a better signal. The traffic stop occurred on U.S. Highway 80, a relatively flat highway with hardly any obstructions between the officer and the department's antennas less than two miles away.
The department's future system, which is expected to go live in January pending the results of internal testing, will be licensed in the nationwide public safety 700 MHz band. The new system will operate using APCO 25, or Project 25, standards in Phase II TDMA mode.
According to a DFW Communications representative at a July Forney City Council meeting where the contract was discussed, the system will be capable of dual banding and communicating with older analog radio systems. Phase II systems can also be configured to operate with Phase I systems by automatically switching to Phase I modulation – allowing for communication with other area municipalities running in Phase I such as the Terrell Police Department.
The current system will be traded in for approximately $269,000 credit for the purchase of the new system. The Forney City Council voted to transfer $1.4 million in available funds into their capital improvements fund to purchase the new system with cash instead of incurring debt on the purchase.
“This is something that will be here for the rest of my life and most of my officer's lives,” said Barnes speaking of the tower. According to Barnes, space on the tower could be used for additional public safety communication needs in the future. The Forney Police Department may also enter into a regional communications partnership with neighboring departments such as the Mesquite and Garland Police Departments.
Officers were sometimes unable to communicate on something as simple as a traffic stop, said Barnes and would often times resort to using their cell phones to communicate with dispatch.
The current system's inadequacies were highlighted on national news in August of this year when a Forney Police officer pulled over George Zimmerman on July 28, 2013, for speeding. The officer could be seen removing his radio from his belt to hold it high above his head in an attempt to gain a better signal. The traffic stop occurred on U.S. Highway 80, a relatively flat highway with hardly any obstructions between the officer and the department's antennas less than two miles away.
The department's future system, which is expected to go live in January pending the results of internal testing, will be licensed in the nationwide public safety 700 MHz band. The new system will operate using APCO 25, or Project 25, standards in Phase II TDMA mode.
According to a DFW Communications representative at a July Forney City Council meeting where the contract was discussed, the system will be capable of dual banding and communicating with older analog radio systems. Phase II systems can also be configured to operate with Phase I systems by automatically switching to Phase I modulation – allowing for communication with other area municipalities running in Phase I such as the Terrell Police Department.
The current system will be traded in for approximately $269,000 credit for the purchase of the new system. The Forney City Council voted to transfer $1.4 million in available funds into their capital improvements fund to purchase the new system with cash instead of incurring debt on the purchase.
“This is something that will be here for the rest of my life and most of my officer's lives,” said Barnes speaking of the tower. According to Barnes, space on the tower could be used for additional public safety communication needs in the future. The Forney Police Department may also enter into a regional communications partnership with neighboring departments such as the Mesquite and Garland Police Departments.