Brooks Unveils New Public Safety Mobile Communications Unit
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks joined several County and City representatives and emergency services personnel for the unveiling of the new Mobile Communications Unit (MCU). This multi-purpose vehicle is the latest component in the County Executive’s strategy to achieve interoperability in the delivery of emergency services to the community.
“The Mobile Communications Unit is a great example of a successful community-wide partnership and collaboration involving County departments, the City of Rochester, our towns and villages, and local police, fire and EMS,” said Brooks. “Working together, this Mobile Communications Unit will benefit all public safety agencies in Monroe County and significantly enhance public safety for the citizens of our community.”
The new Mobile Communications Unit has the ability to provide on-scene dispatch and radio assistance to law enforcement personnel for a wide array of incidents. The vehicle also crosses over multiple frequency spectrums; enabling inter-communication between several County, State and Federal agencies. The interoperability of the MCU serves a critical role in delivering County and City government services to the community during the response and mitigation of any emergency.
The Mobile Communications Unit was purchased through several funding sources:
CIP (Capital Improvement Project) Funding: Approximately $400,000.00 from Public Safety Communications for vehicle and associated systems
OEM (Office of Emergency Management) Funding: Approximately $46,000.00 for camera, video systems, and weather station
Homeland Security Grant funding: Approximately $125,000.00 for radios, antennas, and associated hardware
ECD (City of Rochester Emergency Communications – 911) Funding: Approximately $75,000.00 for computers, server, printers
“I want to thank County Executive Maggie Brooks for her strong support of a comprehensive and integrated communications strategy for public safety in Monroe County,” said Steve Bowman, Director of Public Safety. “Through this joint effort we will be able to support field communications in all aspects of emergency response and meet interoperability requirements with other Federal and State agencies during an emergency.”
Staff at the Monroe County Public Safety Communications Center assisted in the design and construction of the MCU, equipping it and making it operationally ready.
“Public safety is one of government’s most important responsibilities. Events such as the 2006 manhunt for Ralph “Bucky” Phillips, the severe snow storms that paralyzed areas around Oswego, NY in 2007, and most recently, the wind storms that caused countywide power outages and property damage earlier this year showed us the challenges facing public safety officials in the event of an emergency,” said Brooks. “In response to these challenges, we found it necessary to bolster our public safety efforts to meet these types of emergencies head-on.”
The Monroe County Department of Public Safety will continue to release additional pieces of its public safety plan over the next six to 12 months. These tools give the County and its law enforcement agencies the appropriate policies, procedures and protocols to allow full communication during a public safety emergency.
