HPD goes back
to analog radios

Problems with the new
digital equipment put
officers in danger

By Jaymes Song
and Trish Moore
Star-Bulletin

The Honolulu Police Department today switched back to analog communication technology because of problems it has been having with its new multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art digital system.

Officials said problems with the new digital hand-held radios, such as poor sound quality and connections being cut off, have compromised the safety of officers since all eight districts in the department switched to the $19.7 million Ericsson Radio System on June 22.

"That's when the major problems started," said Sgt. Rick Wheeler, chairman of the police union. "We noticed that the transmissions were garbled. The dispatchers sounded like they were transmitting inside a can that was under water."

According to department officials, the radios have cut out during two crucial situations so far. An officer was unable to call for backup while confronting a suspect armed with a knife. Another officer was physically struggling with a suspect during an arrest and was unable to contact a dispatch operator.

Wheeler said a break in communications can be deadly.

"From the officer's standpoint, the radio is his lifeline," he said. "That's the only means he has to call for additional units, to tell them where he is, what kind of shape he's in, what kind of circumstances he's in, whether a suspect is armed, if shots are fired or if someone is injured."

He added that the community is also jeopardized because if the radios don't work, the officers cannot be dispatched.

A police spokeswoman said the new system has a dual capablity of analog and digital, so only the technology will be switched and not the equipment.

Switching over to digital communications was a first step in a master plan that includes installing computers in the patrol cars for record checks on people and cars, and to write reports, said Capt. William Chur of the Communication Division.