Richmond

Inter-jurisdictional radio interoperability has always been an obstacle when operating in multi-jurisdictional mutual aid situations. Over the past several years, the Counties of Henrico, and Chesterfield and the City of Richmond have worked together to minimize radio communications barriers in these types of situations, as well as in day-to-day operations. All three jurisdictions have purchased 800 MHz Motorola digital trunked systems, linked through a Smartzone controller. The Smartzone software and controller allow individual radio users to seamlessly roam between the three jurisdictional sub-systems, provided they are on a talkgroup that has been designated as a wide area resource.

The three jurisdictions formed the Capital Region Communications Steering Committee and have worked together to ensure that policies and procedures are in place to take full advantage of the interoperability capabilities of the Smartzone Network. The three jurisdictions have created generic regional talkgroups that are programmed in all of the radios on the Smartzone Network. These generic talkgroups can be assigned by any of the three dispatch centers and can be used for any type of regional situation. In addition to the generic regional talkgroups, regional law enforcement talkgroups have also been created. These talkgroups are programmed into law enforcement radios and are used for specific purposes, such as regional vice operations or regional hostage situations. All of the talkgroups that are designated as regional talkgroups are programmed as wide area talkgroups, meaning they can talk throughout the entire coverage area of the Smartzone Network.

In addition to the designated regional talkgroups, the three jurisdictions have agreed to share certain key police, fire and general government talkgroups, with each other. These shared talkgroups are also designated as wide area and can be used throughout the entire coverage area of the Smartzone Network.

The console systems of the three jurisdictions are also linked through a common network and can be programmed to share resources. Through this console network, all three jurisdictions have access to two National Public Safety National Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) calling channels and four National Public Safety Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) tactical channels. Henrico County is in the process of finalizing an MOU with Hanover County to allow the Henrico dispatch center to patch Henrico talkgroups to the Hanover Enhanced Digital Access Communications System (EDACS) through a control station located at the Henrico communications center. Henrico is also working on a MOU with the State Police that would allow Henrico dispatch to patch the State Police Division One repeater channel to Henrico talkgroups. Once these two control stations are installed, Chesterfield County and the City of Richmond would have the capability of patching through the shared console network, provided they have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hanover and the Commonwealth.

Collaboration with the Commonwealth’s Interoperability Effort

To encourage collaboration between the statewide effort and the Richmond area, a representative from the region sits on the State Interoperability Advisory Group to share regional lessons learned and best practices.