Federal Recovery Funds Allow 23 Prince George's County Jurisdictions to Link into County-Wide Radio System
GOCCP grants used to purchase 700MHz radios; improve interoperability and public safety
RIVERDALE PARK, Md. (January 14, 2010) – Today, Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown, joined by local officials and police chiefs, announced that federal recovery funds have been allocated to 23 towns and cities within Prince George’s County for new police radios that are capable of communicating with police departments in other jurisdictions. A total of $1.5 million in federal Recovery Act grants will be used to purchase 700MHz radios for the County’s municipal police departments. The new radios are capable of operating in the new county-wide radio system in Prince George’s County.
“The purchase of these radios, through a grant administered by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention, is a vital step toward meeting our goal of interoperability and improved public safety,” said Lt. Governor Brown. “We learned a powerful lesson from the 9/11 attacks: that emergency services must be able to communicate with each other. Now, because of our strong 
federal, state and local partnerships, there will be interoperability among police departments in Prince George’s County.”
Prince George’s County has developed a 700 MHz radio system that would enable all public service agencies to communicate seamlessly throughout the county. The radio towers and infrastructure are completed, and with the purchase of radios through these federal grants, virtually all jurisdictions in Prince George’s County are now able to communicate flawlessly.
“This is the first time in my 30 years of service that something historical of this nature has happened to our community,” said Riverdale Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers. “It would take our small community years to raise the money to equip our officers for this new radio system. We're grateful that GOCCP has included us in this technology that will instantaneously connect us with the County police and other law enforcement, giving us the tools and the backup we need to do our job.”
Each individual radio costs $3,796. The full $1.5 million grant will provide 23 towns and cities with the capability to purchase a total of 384 radios. A full list of towns and cities receiving grants follows:
- Berwyn Heights Total grant: $34,164
- Bladensburg Total grant: $75,920
- Brentwood Total grant: $15,184
- Capitol Heights Total grant: $45,552
- Cheverly Total grant: $60,736
- College Park Total grant: $265,720
- Colmar Manor Total grant: $22,776
- Cottage City Total grant: $26,572
- District Heights Total grant: $56,940
- Edmonston Total grant: $26,572
- Fairmount Heights Total grant: $22,776
- Forest Heights Total grant: $26,572
- Glenarden Total grant: $41,756
- Greenbelt Total grant: $204,984
- Hyattsville Total grant: $136,656
- Landover Hills Total grant: $26,572
- Morningside Total grant: $22,776
- Mount Rainer Total grant: $68,328
- New Carrollton Total grant: $60,736
- Riverdale Park Total grant: $91,104
- Seat Pleasant Total grant: $68,328
- University Park Total grant: $34,164
- Upper Marlboro Total grant: $22,776
Since the O’Malley-Brown Administration took office, violent crime has decreased across Maryland. The Uniform Crime Report for the State of Maryland, issued by the Maryland State Police for January 
2008 through December 2008, showed double digit decreases in murder (-11%) and motor vehicle theft, (-10.8%) and reductions in rape (-4.4%), aggravated assault (-2.4%), and robbery (-0.4%) statewide for 2008. Violent crime in Maryland decreased two percent in 2008, when compared to 2007; and 13 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions reported reductions in violent crime. Statewide crime statistics for 2009 have not yet been finalized, but early analysis points to continued positive trends.
Earlier this year, Prince George’s County officials released data that shows crime in Prince George’s County has reached a 35-year low. Moreover, Prince George’s County has led Maryland’s crime reduction efforts. Murders in the county have decreased by 23 percent since 2007. Between 2007 and 2008, the most recent year for which complete data exists, vehicle thefts in the County decreased by more than 16 percent and rapes decreased by more than 6 percent.
“There’s been a marked increase in law enforcement’s ability to communicate between jurisdictions in Prince George’s County, and I believe that communication has had a part in the drop in crime in the county,” said Riverdale Park Mayor Vernon Archer. “The purchase of these radios will allow police departments to do an even better job in fighting crime in the county.”
“Communication is key in crime prevention and public safety throughout Prince George’s County, and this grant will allow our newly formed Police Department to purchase state-of-the-art radios compatible with the new 700 MHz communications system being implemented by the Prince George’s County Police this year,” said Brentwood Mayor Xzavier Montgomery-Wright. “Without this grant, acquiring radios for the new county system would not have been readily feasible for our fledging police department and would have placed a financial burden on the taxpayers of Brentwood. This grant is the opportunity to move our Police Department forward and concentrate funds on other needed equipment and public safety services.” 
“Last week, we announced that the crime rate in Prince George’s County is the lowest it has been in 35 years. I know that our municipal police departments play a major role in these reductions,” said Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson. “I want to thank Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown for securing funding to help our municipal police purchase their new radios. This funding will help to ensure that we continue to see major crime reductions in Prince George’s County.”
Lt. Governor Brown referenced an additional $19.2 million awarded to Prince George’s County through GOCCP grants, including $7 million for 64 individual grants to support and improve public safety and $11.6 million for the Police Protection Program. Since taking office, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has made public safety a top priority and has supported programs, initiatives and legislative efforts to reduce crime and strengthen law enforcement.
View more photos from this event.
