Radio System Troubles 2 Police Agencies

The Irvine Police Department, the first law enforcement agency to begin using Orange County’s new $80-million emergency radio system, is complaining that the highly touted technology has on some occasions failed to work.

Officers said the radio network has produced garbled messages, drained the life from motorcycle batteries and failed altogether in underground parking lots and some buildings.

The criticism prompted Motorola, which is constructing the system, to fly in experts from Florida and Chicago to fix the problems.

Police officers said difficulties have not caused any major problems but fear they could undermine public safety if unsolved.

“No one’s been jeopardized, but there have been some hairy instances because communications weren’t as good as we would like,” said Irvine Police Cmdr. Jim Blaylock.

“I was under the impression that you unplug one [system] and plug the other one in . . . but that just isn’t happening,” he said. “From that position, I’m disappointed, but I’m not willing to throw in the towel.”

Motorola officials said it is the first time they have encountered such failures while installing a new police emergency system. They said company technicians worked around the clock over the weekend to solve the problems.

The radio network appears to be working better since antennas and portable radios were fine-tuned this week, said Motorola spokeswoman Pat Sturmon. Sturmon conceded that the problems with motorcycle radios have proven more complicated. But she maintained that any new radio system the size of Orange County’s is likely to experience early glitches.

“It’s not a major issue with the system itself,” Sturmon said. “At the same time, you don’t want to minimize the fact that officers were having problems. We know how much of a problem it is for officers not to have a reliably working radio out on the street. We take that very seriously.”

In Tustin, police officers have encountered similar problems. Police have had to dispatch help at least a half-dozen times for stranded motorcycle officers after their new radios drained their vehicle batteries.

“There’s a few problems,” said Tustin Police Chief Steve Foster. “But when you’re redesigning a system, you have to expect them.”

The new 800-megahertz system has been operating in Irvine and Tustin since April. The digital technology is replacing the county’s nearly 30-year-old system, which faced heavy criticism in 1993 when the radio network almost broke down during the devastating Laguna Beach fires.

Chief among the complaints was the old network’s inability to allow police to communicate by radio with firefighters. Instead, officers must relay messages through dispatch centers.

Officials had estimated that the county sheriff’s and police departments would be using the system by the start of next year. But difficulties with building sites to install the equipment and other problems have delayed plans, Sturmon said. The system should be complete by fall 2001, she said.