Sheriff's office heads into digital age

Information Technology Director Frank Hefner told county commissioners Monday he is working on upgrading the interface and console for the Sheriff Department’s dispatch center to accommodate digital channels at a cost of about $2,500. The present analog channels are causing the department to lose signals.

Hefner wants to add an additional digital handheld radio into dispatch so when the console goes down communication with deputies can still happen. Judge Mitchell Davenport said the department has been behind the ball the last few years with upgrades but is spending the money now.

“We’ve been talking about upgrading to digital the last 6-8 years," Davenport said.

While digital is the way of the future in reducing bleedover from other channels, the range is diminished that you can hear from analog. Hefner said getting digital handheld radios in all the units is next on the agenda. The cost is about $2,500-$3,000 per radio with a need of 15 for the vehicles. 

“Some of the handhelds we have now are 10 or more years old in some of the units,” Hefner said. 

To read the complete article, see the April 27 edition of the Herald-Gazette.