On Thursday, Nov. 10, the City of Fremont Police Department’s new interoperable radio system went live, enabling direct connections with multiple public safety jurisdictions through an 800 megahertz (MHz) system by Motorola. The new system allows interoperable communications with the Omaha Police Department, the Nebraska State Patrol and the public safety jurisdictions of Douglas and Washington Counties among others. The Fremont Fire Department will also use this system and will soon be operational as well.
The previous UHF/VHF system, in operation for more than 30 years, had reached the end of its life and could not be upgraded. The Police and Fire Departments, along with the joint communications center (911) worked together to select a replacement that would offer technical benefits and expand to meet future needs. In October 2015, City Council approved the $1.7 million seven-year lease agreement with Motorola. Since that time, the Police Department has installed equipment and trained personnel.
The system not only allows for communications with multiple other law enforcement agencies, but is actually part of the systems that are currently operational in the Washington and Douglas County areas. This provides better radio coverage for all of the agencies involved and also provides a backup in the event of outages in one of the jurisdictions.
“The new radio system is a godsend for the Fremont Police Department,” said Chief Jeff Elliott. “This system allows for much better communications for our officers in the field and the ability to talk directly to the Fremont Fire department, which had previously not been possible. I want to express my gratitude and thanks to the Mayor and City Council for approving this expenditure, it will certainly improve our delivery of essential public safety services.”
Pictured: Police Chief Jeff Elliott and Fire Department Capt. Tom Christensen using new interoperable radio system