Sheriff’s Officials Seek Grant For Communication System

San Andreas, CA — Representatives with the Calaveras and Alpine County Sheriff Departments met with lawmakers in Washington, DC in hopes of receiving federal funding for a $13 million microwave communications system.

Calaveras County Sheriff’s Captain Clay Hawkins says, “The system would allow us to access information from the dispatch center and move data from the dispatch center to the field with the use of a mobile data terminal system in patrol cars.”

It would allow deputies to check information on drivers directly from their patrol vehicles rather than having to radio back to the dispatch center. The first phase of the project is to create a system that Calaveras and Alpine County will share, with long term plans to include Tuolumne, Amador, Mariposa and Mono Counties.

“We’re kind of sitting in a pivotal area of the state were we could be a major reception area is something happens in the Bay Area,” adds Hawkins. “We have a variable terrain that makes communications a nightmare for our deputies in the field.”

Making the trip to Washington, DC last week was Hawkins, Calaveras Undersheriff Mike Walker and Alpine Undersheriff Robert Levy.

Written by bjhansen@mlode.com