Sheriff wants police radios with Wi-Fi capability

For Post-Tribune

Officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department will be getting new next-generation radios instead of some new vehicles after Ford informed the department it would not be able to fill its 2022 order for police-issued Explorers.

Chief Vincent Balbo asked the Lake County Council on Thursday in a workshop to transfer the $200,000 it would have spent equipping the new Explorers if the order was not canceled so it could instead begin the process of purchasing the new radios.

Balbo said Ford informed the department the vehicles it had ordered this year would not be delivered and the automaker would no longer be making the police versions, instead focusing on Explorers for regular commercial sales. Several other departments in Northwest Indiana also will be affected by the Ford decision, he said.

There is one dealer in Indiana who is on the state’s quantity purchase agreement who can fulfill the order for vehicles in 2023, Balbo said. The department is hoping to make up its purchase next year. In the meantime, the radios are a necessary purchase that is a good use of the money.

The new radios cost $12,000 each are part of a new generation of technology that will enable police to communicate using traditional radio frequencies but will also be able to communicate using Wi-Fi. The department will purchase 35 radios with the transferred funds. Balbo said the Wi-Fi capabilities will enable police to communicate inside buildings and other areas in which they are currently unable. Current radios use technology that is about 40 years old.

“This will be the standard radio for the next few decades,” he said. Existing radios will continue to work, but updates no longer will be available after December 2023.

The department needs a total of 175 radios at a cost of about $2.1 million. Balbo said the department was planning to purchase

the radios in groups as funding became available while looking for grants to assist with the purchases.

“So far this year we have purchased six of the new generation radios,” Balbo said.

The radios have been distributed to the SWAT team, which is most likely to need them first.

Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said each council member was given about $1.4 million each in American Rescue Plan Act funds to use on projects of their choosing. Several council members have used their funds for water and sewer infrastructure projects in their districts, police equipment and assistance to nonprofits. Bilski was considering using his funding for a vertical garden project but instead said he would donate is full amount toward getting those radios.

“I can cover about $1 million of that,” Bilski said.

Councilman Dan Dernulc, D-Highland, said he could provide his remaining funds, about $100,000 toward the purchase as well. The department will need about $400,000 more in funding to complete the project.

The council is expected to approve the transfer Tuesday at its regular meeting.