SEAL BEACH : City to Join Study of Police Radio Merger

Faced with an expected budget shortfall of $1 million or more, City Council members want to know if consolidating the Police Department’s communications system with those of two nearby law enforcement agencies would save money.

The City Council last week agreed to study the concept in conjunction with the Cypress and Los Alamitos police departments.

The study--to be complete in the summer--will examine the effectiveness and costs of creating a single dispatching center for all three cities.

The study will also address the location of such a center and the kind of equipment it would need.

Talk of consolidation comes as the county plans to modernize the countywide law enforcement radio system.

The move might require police departments to spend as much as $100,000 to upgrade equipment.

Officials hope the report will identify the most economical way for the cities to deal with the new radio system.

The three cities border Los Angeles County on the far west side of Orange County.

Seal Beach’s Police Department has three dispatchers and 40 sworn officers. Though the city has a modest population of 27,000, it is spread over 12.5 miles.

By contrast, Cypress--with a population of 44,218 and a staff of nine dispatchers and 53 officers--covers only 7.2 square miles.

If the single communications center is approved, it will serve 83,000 people over roughly 23 square miles from the Pacific Ocean north to Coyote Creek.

Seal Beach City Council members expressed support for the study, saying that they hope it will result in a less expensive dispatch system that does not compromise swift law enforcement services.