Northport Police Get Radio Upgrade

Northport Police will soon upgrade their VHF radio equipment to an 800 MHz system from Motorola Solutions, the same system used by Suffolk County Police.

With the new system, Northport police hope to avoid dangerous radio outages like those that affected the department during Hurricane Sandy and Snowstorm Nemo this past year.

"The backup is built into it, unlike our VHF which is batteried and lasts for 30 minutes," said Northport Police Lieutenant Bill Ricca. "It's sustainable indefinitely as a backup through natural gas and propane. The gas is actually piped into the facility much like our generator next door."

Ricca called the current radio system "1920s technology" and said its frequency radius is three miles at best. With the replacement, Northport Police can communicate with police departments from Montauk to NYC.

"Once we start the project it'll take about four months to complete and it'll be 100 percent done and up and running," said Ricca.

The village approved a $113,920.50 three-year lease agreement with Motorola for the equipment with a $1 option to buy at the end of the term at Tuesday's Northport Board of Trustees meeting. The lease will be financed through Motorola Solutions and paid out of the Suffolk County E-911 Fund.

The village is contributing $14,842.40 from its SCPD E-911 budget line, $11,694.23 from its Chase Bank Equipment account, and $463.75 from the police radio repair budget line.