In a meeting Tuesday, Marion aldermen approved a state contract purchase of four radios for a total of $6,531.
Currently, the police department has dedicated radios for the force's leadership, including Chief Randall Davis, Assistant Chief Arthur Hopson and Sgt. James McCarty. However, that leaves only two radios for officers to use while on duty.
The four new radios will be compatible with the Mississippi Wireless Information Network (MSWIN) radio system, which is a statewide communications network for first responders. Mayor Larry Gill said MPD has already joined the hundreds of first responder agencies throughout the state on the MSWIN system.
MSWIN was created after Hurricane Katrina with the goal of bridging communication gaps between local and state first responders. The system provides dedicated channels for each agency that can be accessed anywhere in the state, as well as the ability to spin off channels for inter-agency communications during large scale emergency events.
The MSWIN system also eliminates compatibility issues between locally-operated networks, with any MSWIN compatible radios able to operate on any MSWIN channel.
There is no cost to operate on the MSWIN system, but agencies do have to purchase their own compatible radios.
Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department, Emergency Management and Fire Departments transitioned to the MSWIN system in October of last year, and the City of Meridian is moving forward with plans to switch as well.
In a meeting Tuesday, the Meridian City Council voted to finance radios for its own first responders at a cost of $566,100 with an interest rate of 3.93%.
In addition to radios, the Marion Police Department is also looking forward to two new patrol cars arriving from the City of Meridian. The city council approved the donation Tuesday, and Marion aldermen are expected to accept the vehicles at their Dec. 6 meeting.
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©2022 The Meridian Star (Meridian, Miss.)
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