Safety concerns prompt radio upgrades in Gibson County
GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A call for help from deputies in Gibson County may go unanswered if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is because in some spots in the county, radio reception is impossible if they are out of their patrol cars.
The radio system used by most of the law enforcement in the county is almost 40 years old. It is posing a real safety risk, because deputies’ portables, the ones they wear on their uniforms and rely on when they are chasing suspects or out of their car helping someone, could go silent.
“If they were away from their car and needed help they would be on the radio asking for help and all you could hear, if anything, was static,” Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas said. “Sometimes we wouldn’t even get that.”
Outside of the radios in patrol cars, deputies have no easy way to call in.
“Cell phones were the only way we had to communicate,” Sheriff Thomas said. “If an officer was in trouble he didn’t have time to get his cell phone out and call dispatch.”
It is a safety issue officials said needs to be fixed. That is why thousands of dollars is being spent to go from analog to digital.
“Our present system is over 40 years old,” Gibson County 911 Director Bob Moore said. “It’s just not getting the job done.”
From Kenton to Milan there are coverage blackouts all over the county under the current analog system but going digital will give officers coverage county-wide.
“The clarity and the range on it, it’s unbelievable,” Thomas said. “It’s so much better than what we have now.”
With deputies putting their lives on the line every day, communication is key.
“The way crime is now we’re their safety net,” Moore said. “We’ve got to be able to hear them and they need to hear us.”
Work on the digital upgrade is expected to start in the next few weeks and will hopefully be up and running within a month. Gibson County 911 also dispatches for a number of smaller area towns who will also have the option to upgrade their systems.
The upgrades are costing Gibson County 91 around $75,000. The sheriff’s office will only have to purchase new radios which will cost around $50,000.
