BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — The Bartlesville City Council approved a $2 million Motorola radio upgrade for the police department Monday.
The City says, for several years the Bartlesville Police Department has been having communication issues with officers’ handheld radios in the field because of a low frequency range. They also say, their dispatch facility, built in 2012, has end of life equipment from the same 10-year-old timeframe. The city says their analog system also can’t connect to other statewide agencies.
The upgrade, just approved, would boost their frequency range and allow them to utilize mutual aid from surrounding communities more easily. That includes the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Oklahoma Department of Transportation, extending the statewide radio network to the northeastern corner of the state.
The City of Bartlesville says Motorola Solutions is the only vendor that offers a direct connection to the current statewide safety communication system. The state and Motorola have agreed upon both equipment and services.
Bartlesville PD has used Motorola for the 911 phone system and for equipment the past 10 years. They are also the current bodycam and dashcam provider for the department.
Bartlesville Police Capt. Jay Hastings told FOX23 the new system will increase safety for officers and the Bartlesville community.
“It increases safety for officers,” Hastings said. “It’s also going to increase efficiency as we respond to the community for their emergency needs.”
A GO bond passed by voters in 2020 approved $2 million for an emergency communication infrastructure system. However, the City says purchase options kept coming in at around $2.5 million. Motorola has since offered discounts, which bring the total project cost within budget.
The approved deal would provide:
- A direct connection to the existing State of Oklahoma master site located in Tulsa
- Upgraded backend radio equipment at the current dispatch location
- Replacement of the dispatch radio computers
- Eighty officer handheld radios
- Forty-five patrol car radio units
- Replacement of the east side repeater site
- Replacement of all downtown radio site equipment
- A critical network connection between the local system with the statewide mutual aid system
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