Sheriff goes digital; MPD considering options
Jul. 22—A recent switch from analog to digital radio communications by the Pittsburg County Sheriff Office was made for safety reasons. The switch means people with scanners can no longer hear most radio transmissions from the department.
The switch is the final phase of what Sheriff Chris Morris called a much-needed radio upgrade for his department that first began in 2020.
"The sheriff's office has been needing upgrades for years," Morris said. "That was one of my priorities in 2017, to get our radio system upgraded because it was a safety hazard for our deputies."
The Pittsburg County Sheriff's Foundation purchased 20 car radios and 21 mobile radios in 2020 with funds generated through PCSO, including the fee paid to hold federal prisoners in the Pittsburg County Jail, paying for new radio repeater systems throughout the county.
Prior to the upgrades, Morris said there was only one repeater and it did not have the range needed for deputies to communicate with dispatch if they were in certain parts of the county.
"Once we got the funds together, it was a priority that we had to do," Morris said. "The digital, it's just an upgrade. It's modernizing. We didn't want to put the same old stuff in; we wanted an upgrade and make it better."
Morris said before the upgrades began, deputies were using communication applications downloaded on their cell phone to be able to communicate with each other if there were in parts of the county that did not have adequate radio coverage.
"If you're in a fight or something, it's hard to get your phone, open up it, and find the app," Morris said. "It was all about safety."
The sheriff said that small towns that pay the department for dispatch services are also switching to the new system.
"We've spoken with all of them. They are switching also," Morris said.
While some radio transmissions can still be heard over the analog system, Morris said the department will fully make the switch to digital soon to give the other agencies under their dispatch time to convert to the new system.
People who listen to the radio traffic through various scanner applications on their cell phone could also be affected by the switch to digital.
Scanner applications, such as Broadcastify and 5-0 Radio Police Scanner, receive their police, fire, emergency medical service, amateur radio, and other radio feeds through volunteers who have an internet connected scanner that streams the radio traffic over the internet — meaning that if the person doesn't have the proper scanner, then the traffic will not be heard on the apps.
McAlester Police Chief Kevin Hearod said his department currently has digital capable radios and is examining the costs and benefits of making the move back to digital.
"We switched to digital about 10 years ago and we had issues with it," Heaord said. "I think the biggest thing was we had issues with the way it was implemented."
Previous reporting by the News-Capital shows MPD first switched to digital in 2012 before making the switch back to analog in 2013 and staying with the system ever since.
The chief said his department is in the process of receiving quotes.
"We're looking at it to see how much it's going to cost," Hearod said. "If its feasible, then our plan is to move forward and go back to digital."
The chief said the costs will be for upgrading the department's current radios in use along with upgrades to dispatch and repeater systems.
"Analog is what we used going to the moon back in the 60s," Hearod said. "We're almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century. We need to get our electronics in the 21st century too."
Contact Derrick James at djames@mcalesternews.com
