Analysis of Radio Communication System for New Hanover County Sheriff's Department, Wilmington, North Carolina

• NCJ Number: 87019
• Author(s): N R Coltri
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 29 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-TA-AX-0036
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Associated Public-Safety Communications Officers, Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A study of the radio communications system for the sheriff's department of New Hanover County, N.C., focused on methods for dealing with the congestion being experienced in the system.

Abstract

Other problems examined were the overworking of the one communications dispatcher, the radio 'dead spots' throughout the county, and the lack of backup radio facilities. To deal with these problems, the department should add backup facilities to the existing transmitter and telephone system and a satellite receiver system to eliminate 'dead spots.' Adding a second dispatch position would permit the operation of a two-dispatcher system on a part-time basis. A four-wire circuit should connect the console with the mobile relay to permit the dispatcher to receive emergency calls from vehicles while transmitting lengthy messages. The department should also eliminate the use of in-car repeaters and use that frequency as a car-to-car channel which is independent of the main channel. In addition, the department should examine the possibility of adding a second mobile relay system on a third radio channel. A recommended layout for mobile and control console channel assignments and attachments discussing an emergency 911 system and guidelines for dispatch centers for emergency medical services and fire services are provided.