Surf City updates communications system

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Coordination between the city’s police and fire

departments should be drawn tighter thanks to a communication system

designed to unite efforts in public safety.

The Huntington Beach Police Department began switching over to an

800-megahertz communication system Feb. 7, replacing an aged and outdated

UHF network, most of which was beyond repair, in place for more than 25

years.

“It’s long overdue and will provide much better communication between

the city’s three services, as well as with county agencies,” said City

Administrator Ray Silver, adding the city’s public works department will

also be incorporated into the program. “It’s really a state-of-the-art

system.”

The 800-megahertz system is a countywide effort to unify radio

communication between public safety agencies such as police, fire and

county sheriffs, as well as between the public works and community

services department. It has computer-controlled communication with more

than 70 channels, ensuring crisp reception, unlike the interruptions

experienced by city police, who share the UHF system with Brea law

enforcement and Los Angeles maintenance personnel.

Police communication officials said the department is the first in the

city to move ahead with the newer network.

“The entire system cost about $110 million across the county, with

Huntington Beach paying about $7 million alone,” said Jim Moore, the

information systems manager in charge of the police system.

The bulk of that money, he added, has gone into infrastructure costs

for the system, which required 250 new portable radios for police

personnel, 150 fixed mount radios for patrol cars, helicopters and other

equipment. The city is also the system’s southwest hub, one of six sites

in the county to canvass the area.

Huntington Beach Fire Department officials said they already have

operated on an analog 800-megahertz system for a number of years,

recently updating their network last year.

Although public works officials have yet to implement the system

themselves, they are eager to start.

“The system is being brought online sequentially, starting with fire,

then police and finally public works departments,” said Robert Beardsley,

the city’s director of public works. “We’re looking forward to using it

because it will help coordinate our response to emergencies or disasters

that cross departmental boundaries.”

Major flooding, earthquakes and other catastrophes require fluid

cooperation between public safety and public works officials to ensure a

proper response, city officials said.

“Right now we have and analog system, where the fire and police

departments have to use separate radio systems to monitor our public

works activities,” Beardsley said. ‘The benefit of the 800-megahertz

program is that it combines us all into one.”

Jim Day, a radio engineer with the police program, said it will take

up to seven weeks to completely switch over to the new system, and police

personnel will use the UHF and 800-megahertz networks until then.