Five High-Tech Communications Systems Could Link Santa Clara County Public-Safety Agencies

A task force of Santa Clara County fire and police officials is developing plans for five cutting-edge communications systems that would link the county's public-safety agencies. All could be in place within a few years, if pilot projects prove worthwhile and funding opens up, according to Stephen Lodge, the police chief of Santa Clara.

The five systems would:

Link individual cities' fire-dispatch computers. In the event of a big emergency, the San Jose fire center could dispatch nearby units in other towns, instead of going through a central dispatcher.

Countywide cost: under $5 million.

Share some computerized police records and reports among neighboring departments. For example, a Palo Alto officer investigating burglaries could call up Mountain View reports to see if there have been similar break-ins.

Estimated countywide cost: under $4 million.

Integrate VoIP -- voice-over-Internet technology -- into police and fire radio channels. By November, Northrop Grumman will launch a free demonstration project in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, enabling, for example, an officer pursuing a suspect on El Camino Real to contact an officer across the border instead of going through a dispatcher.

Estimated cost to the county: $3.2 million

Create a secure broadband network. By year end, San Jose State's wireless network will link the campus and city police departments, enabling officers to exchange data, Amber Alerts and even video images. The range of the signal will be limited, for now. Cost of first phase: $700,000.

Establish computer links tying research libraries of hospitals in Santa Clara and three other counties. Doctors who see unusual symptoms, suggesting, say, anthrax, could share information in real time with other facilities.

Estimated cost: $1.8 million.

Distributed by the Associated Press