New communications equipment for Delta College that would improve communication throughout campus was approved by the board during a Jan. 17 meeting, yet the equipment hasn’t arrived to campus.
The new equipment consists of behind-the-scenes infrastructure, which includes repeaters, antennas, and new radio channels according to Police Sergeant and Public Information Officer Jim Bock.
According to notes from the meeting, in October 2020 the California Department of Justice issued Bulletin 20-09-CJIS which stated that all California law enforcement agencies must encrypt their radios to prevent the release of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
Because of the law, the San Joaquin Delta College Police Department will not be able to communicate with allied agencies once every law enforcement agency in the county complies with the new law.
“This creates significant delays in getting critical information relayed between dispatch and the officers on a call for service,” Bock said.
Campus police are currently not in compliance with California law or FBI/DOJ policies.
“At this time, we have not received the communications equipment,” Bock said. “We are still several months out, as the equipment must be custom built, provisioned, and tested at the Motorola factory before delivery and installation can take place.”
In 2017, Delta reached out to Motorola and learned their entire communication system was considered unusable. According to Motorola, Delta’s entire communication system would be at end-of-service by Jan. 1, 2022. The equipment Delta police have are not repairable anymore by their manufacturer, Motorola.
Though the new equipment has yet to make it to campus, last year the department made a purchase for all of the end-user components including portable radios, mobile radios and dispatch consoles, according to Bock.
Once the equipment arrives, campus police will have the latest technology used by other police agencies for better, reliable communication between the Mountain House campus of Delta and other police agencies.
With the purchase and arrival of the items, campus police won’t need to purchase communication devices for several more years according to Bock, who added that campus police will have maintenance, upgrades and service included to make sure that the system remains responsive and relevant for years to come.
“We understand that the equipment cost is substantial and we want to thank the Board of Trustees and Delta executive cabinet for understanding the importance of having reliable police communications,” Bock said.
“Our primary goal is student safety and this communication equipment is the backbone that enables our ability to maintain the safety on our campuses.”