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Lost in translation: Radio signals for police spotty at times

When an Aspen teenager was arrested for possession of marijuana earlier this month, several police officers responded to the scene. While the call didn’t warrant that kind of response, it was necessary because of a communication breakdown. Aspen Public Radio’s Carolyn Sackariason reports.

Weak radio signals and incomplete transmissions are something local public safety responders have been dealing with for years. It’s a result of the valley’s mountainous terrain...and it can be especially sketchy in and around the Aspen schools campus. Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor says it was a factor in the Feb. 6 arrest of a student at a bus stop near the school.

“One of the problems we have is with radio communications in the area of the schools, so both within the schools themselves and in that area around the ARC we often get incomplete transmissions. So, we have an officer radioing with a somewhat garbled transmission that isn’t as clear as it could be.”

Because they don’t always have a clear path to communicate with each other, Aspen police officers err on the side of caution. That often leads to having more of a law enforcement presence than necessary.

“In our jobs, we have something going on around the schools...we’re thinking we need to get there pretty quick and we need to make sure everything is OK. Therefore, I think we are going to take any call in that area seriously in response. We can always clear people from the scene and tone things down afterwards but is it worth risking that might not have been more serious going on.”  

Pitkin County is planning to replace a key public safety radio transmitter on Red Mountain next year. The upgrade may improve transmission. But as John Loyd, the county’s chief technical officer, points out, the mountains will still be in the way.

“The use of two-way radio in mountainous regions is not a science but it is an art. Again, given the law of physics we are not going to be moving any mountainsides out of the way of the signal...that is just something that all the police and fire agencies in the valley deal with. The closer you drive to the bottom of the mountain that the radio towers are on the less reception you are going to get and the more noise and static you are going to get.”

The replacement of the radio transmitter is expected to cost around $1 million. It’s part of a larger plan that will evaluate the condition all high mountain transmitter sites in the county.

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