SPRINGFIELD, Ill.-The Pontiac and Stateville Correctional Centers in Illinois each installed Motorola Inc.’s new Smartnet trunked radio system to improve the speed and quality of communication at the prisons, Motorola announced.
The Motorola 800 MHz Smartnet system was designed to penetrate the concrete and steel of the corridors and underground tunnels at the prisons and provide the facilities with better reception, privacy and personal safety for employees.
“With our old system, we had to go through the dispatcher about two-thirds of the time,” said Stateville Warden George DeTella. “Now communication is much faster. This helps us take appropriate action faster.”
Dispatchers in the prisons’ control rooms instantly can see the identity of a radio unit if the user presses the emergency ID button or if a radio has tilted more than 30 degrees from vertical for too long, which may indicate a staff member needs help.
Each of the new systems has a single transmit-and-receive site and four two-way radio channels. Both facilities can create talk groups. The prisons each purchased more than 300 Motorola MTS 2000 portable radios, and corrections officers received training on the radios from Motorola, the company said.
