County Hears Mayday Signal to Fix Radios

The county plans to spend $1 million to improve its troubled emergency radio network, responding to criticism that the system frequently fails.

The radio system, which the Orange County Grand Jury called a threat to public safety, has drawn complaints from police officers and firefighters who report garbled calls and “dead spots” inside large buildings.

County officials said they will probably use the money to build antennas in parts of South County, where problems are the worst.

Despite criticism from the grand jury and rank-and-file officers, county officials have until now downplayed problems with the $82-million system.

But officials acknowledged Tuesday that they receive up to 160 complaints a month about the radios. In addition, officers and firefighters have difficulty communicating on the Balboa Peninsula and along the San Clemente shoreline.

Technicians are boosting signal strength and tweaking local antenna sites in those areas. But if those measures fail, officials said they will have to buy antenna equipment to improve radio coverage.

“We still have to strive to hit that mark where the system works 100%,” said Costa Mesa City Manager Allan L. Roeder, who chairs a committee overseeing the system.

Critics of the radio system welcomed news of the extra funding as a step in the right direction.

“It’s good. At least we’re getting some kind of response,” Irvine Police Sgt. Dave Mihalik said.

In recent weeks, he said, a sergeant was unable to give dispatchers information about two suspects he spotted fleeing from a bank robbery.

In another case, an officer was unable to call for help from an underground garage while making an arrest.

“People are just so frustrated that they’re not reporting it anymore,” Mihalik said. “They’re just living with it.”

County officials said they were making strides in fixing glitches when the grand jury released its critical report in May.

In a response last month to the report, Sheriff Michael S. Carona wrote that the new radio system is a dramatic improvement over the old one, which could no longer handle the growing volume of emergency calls. He disputed findings that recent radio failures were putting lives in jeopardy.

“The county does not . . . believe officers or the public were placed at risk,” Carona wrote.

Recent improvements have helped reduce problems, officials said. Antenna adjustments have improved radio coverage in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, said Joe Robben, manager of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s communications division.

Although complaints continue, the numbers have dropped by two-thirds since the grand jury issued its report, he said.

“It’s incredibly low,” Robben said, adding that he is confident most of the problems will be fixed soon.

“That doesn’t mean we might not have a dead spot when we’re all done. But I think that we’re going to eliminate most of them.”