‘Time is crucial’
Charlottetown Police Services to spend $75,000 a year on new interactive radio system
Police officers in Charlottetown will soon be able to interact with all other police agencies across the province.
City council passed a resolution Monday night to enter into an agreement with the province to utilize radio communications under the Provincial Integrated Communications System (PICS2).
The agreement will cover portable radios, mobile radios in vehicles, user system fees and maintenance, licensing fees, dispatch consoles and fibre connection and console support.
The PICS2 system will cost $360,000, but that dollar figure will be covered by the provincial government.
What it will do to the city is raise its police services operating budget from $30,000 a year to $75,000 annually. The costs associated with this agreement will commence April 1 through Feb. 26, 2025.
Coun. Bob Doiron, chairman of the protective and emergency services committee and a UPEI police officer, said the move will save lives.
“This helps our police department talk to other agencies in a time of crisis and it, I think, is a positive move for the province and the city,’’ Doiron said following Monday’s regular public monthly meeting.
The PICS2 system is being deployed to all agencies across the province.
Doiron said with a simple click on a police radio, an officer with Charlottetown Police Services will be able to talk to, for example, the RCMP or police in Summerside, Kensington and at UPEI.
Doiron was asked whether his committee talked about instances in other jurisdictions where police agencies weren’t able to communicate as efficiently as they would have liked to.
“The tragedy in Moncton . . . and Alberta,’’ Doiron said naming two.
He was referring to the 2014 shooting in Moncton that left three RCMP officers dead and two others severely wounded and the Mayerthorpe, Alta., shooting in March 2005 that left four RCMP officers dead.
“These are instances where police need to contact (other) agencies immediately,’’ Doiron said, adding that officers don’t always have time to wait for dispatch to patch them through.
“Time is crucial. These are very important seconds that you may need to help save a life or to call in backup or someone in to help you.’’
Some councillors were concerned with the $75,000 price tag considering the city spent big bucks two years ago on its current state-of-the-art radio system.
But, while council was debating the resolution, Peter Kelly, chief administrative officer, said the province was asking the city to pass it basically out of politeness. Council was told, essentially, the new radio system is mandatory.
The resolution passed 9-1 with Coun. Mitchell Tweel in opposition.
“We basically had no choice in the matter,’’ Tweel said. “$75,000 is an enormous cost to the taxpayer.’’