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September 1990
POLICE PRACTICES:
PENNSYLVANIA'S INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
No one can argue the benefits that effective
communications systems provide to law enforcement. Even 60 years
ago, Detroit, Michigan, Police Commissioner Rutledge, while
addressing the International Association of Chiefs of Police at
its 1929 convention, noted: ``Snaring criminals in a radio
network, woven by broadcasting to radio-equipped cars, has become
a matter of seconds...With the use of radio communication between
Headquarters and the patrol cars, we are catching criminals red
handed...Instead of trailing behind in the dust of the criminal,
we are as nearly abreast of him as it is humanly possible to
be.'' (1)
Yet, with all the emphasis being placed on electronic
systems and the technological advancements that have occurred
since Commissioner Rutledge's speech, the extent of communication
among law enforcement agencies to share information lags behind
capabilities. Unfortunately, jurisdictional boundaries control
interagency communication and cooperation.
However, this is no longer the case in the State of
Pennsylvania, which supports a statewide police emergency radio
frequency. Using a multi-channel radio programmed with each
frequency used in a specific location, officers can monitor
operational radio transmissions and then initiate an immediate
response, while being able to communicate directly with the
agency having jurisdictional responsibility for the
incident.
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
To begin, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) purchased a
32-128 channel programmable mobile radio with the intent of
expanding its own radio frequency resources. Then, each
communications specialist within the 15 troop areas statewide
contacted all governmental agencies within their individual
areas to request permission to program the PSP radio with the
frequency of those agencies. Once an agency granted permission
to use its frequency, the communications specialist advised the
PSP Communications Division of the appropriate frequency
designation, the P.L. squelch code, if any, and a written
authorization of the license holder to allow use of the
frequency.
PSP communications specialists received an overwhelming
response to their initial inquiries. Over 300 police
organizations within and surrounding Pennsylvania authorized the
use of more than 500 police frequencies for interdepartmental
communications. Even States adjoining Pennsylvania gave
permission for their statewide emergency frequencies to be
accessed on the PSP radio system. L.E.E.R.N. (Law Enforcement
Emergency Radio Network) of Ohio, S.W.E.N. (Statewide Emergency
Network) of Delaware, and the New York Felony Channel are now
available to Pennsylvania State Police troopers working near
these State borders.
Obviously, it was not feasible, or necessary, for each troop
to access all 500 frequencies. Therefore, commanders of local
troops relied on their communications specialists to decide what
frequencies would be included in their radio systems. The
frequencies added by individual troops depended on local and/or
regional needs. Many troops consolidated all their desired
channel requests into a single troopwide radio program.
However, commanders were not restricted in any way concerning
their ability to communicate with other agencies. Some troops
have as many as three different programs established for the
respective stations that comprise their troop. In addition,
along with local law enforcement agencies, some troops
incorporated the National Weather Service Channel, the frequency
for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the
Pennsylvania Turnpike repeaters frequencies, and the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Resources Forestry repeater channels.
OPERATION
Currently, the Pennsylvania State Police Communications
Division is responsibile for managing 52 authorized radio
programs used throughout the Commonwealth by troopers. No longer
must troopers wait for information to be relayed through another
agency's dispatcher to a PSP dispatcher and then to them. Now,
they simply monitor the original conversation and converse
directly with the dispatcher of the agency having jurisdictional
responsibility.
From the first day of operation, the interdepartmental
communications system has aided in solving crimes, recovering
property, and saving lives. For example, PSP troopers working
the midnight shift in the Harrisburg area monitored the radio
frequency of a nearby township police department. After
obtaining a description of the car and occupants, the troopers
positioned themselves near a burglary location. Within 10
minutes, they stopped the car, held the occupants for the
responding officers from the township department, and recovered
$10,000 of stolen property. All this occurred before the
township dispatcher contacted the PSP dispatcher by telephone.
In another instance, a DuBois trooper monitoring the county
frequency overheard an ambulance driver enroute to a hospital
radio discussing traffic congestion. The trooper conversed
directly with the ambulance driver to identify the problem, and
then went to the source of the congestion to clear a path for the
ambulance. The patient, who was in critical condition, survived.
CONCLUSION
Communications is the life-blood of organizations,
especially law enforcement organizations. Communications binds
together individual entities within departments so that all
their activities can be directed toward common departmental
goals. This team effort produces organizational unity.
Team efforts can be expanded statewide. With a direct
interagency radio communications system, all participating
Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies operate within a team
concept. As a result, any barriers that existed between State
and local law enforcement are coming down. After many years of
coexisting, police agencies in Pennsylvania are finally talking.
FOOTNOTE
(1) V.A. Leonard, Police Communications Systems (University of
California Press, 1938).
______________
Major Robert C. Hickes of the Pennsylvania State Police in
Harrisburg provided the information used in this column.