Groton — The City of Groton Police Department is planning to move to the state radio system, which Police Chief Michael Spellman called "a state-of-the-art system" that would be a significant upgrade for the agency.

The city police will be joining police departments, including Groton Town and Stonington, as well as Norwich, in making the switch to the state radio system, said Groton City Police Captain Erick Jenkins.

An approximately $180,000 town Capital Improvement Program project will fund base station upgrades and new portable and vehicle radios, Spellman and Jenkins said. The project was part of the Fiscal Year 2020 budget.

The upgrade will not only benefit the City of Groton, but also the Town of Groton, because the two police departments will be able to communicate directly with each other through the state system, said Spellman. He credited Town Manager John Burt and City Mayor Keith Hedrick for the project.

It will also improve communications with other departments during events, such as Sailfest, when local departments on the system can access a common channel to directly communicate with each other, Spellman pointed out.

"We are literally spending thousands of dollars on a system that is likely worth millions, so it’s a good scenario for us," said Spelllman. Jenkins said the city police department is able to use existing antenna infrastructure in the area, which saves costs.

Spellman said these are exciting times for the city with the Electric Boat's contract to build billions of dollars worth of submarines. He said the state system will allow the police department to do a better job of policing the city that is home to many of the region's economic interests with EB and Pfizer.

The system will improve inter-operability with local police forces, including nearby Groton Town Police and Stonington Police, and Norwich, as well as Electric Boat, State Environmental Conservation Police and the Coast Guard, Jenkins said. 

"We’ll be able to talk to a lot of people on just one system," Jenkins said.

The new higher-tech radios also will bring improved service coverage, he added.

The city police force will keep its current radio system, which will provide redundancy should anything go down with the state system, but won't spend additional money to upgrade it, Spellman said.

Spellman said he gives great credit to Groton Utilities' Information Technology department — which provides services to the city — and Jenkins, who has done a "fantastic job" in meeting weekly with IT and moving the city in this direction.

The City Council is slated to vote next week to allow Hedrick to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with the state, after the Council's Committee of the Whole voted in favor last week.

"With the expanding workforce that we're having in the region, this is an excellent opportunity to use current technology to expand our capabilities and for the city of Groton police force to become a regional player," said Hedrick.

Spellman said the police department also is bringing Stonington's award-winning Citizens with Autism Safety System software to the city, a program that will meet a service need of a demographic in the population with The Arc Eastern Connecticut's presence in the city.

The police department also is planning to have body cameras, which Spellman said is an accountability tool that will increase the confidence the police department already enjoys with the city's population.

"It'll strengthen the existing relationships that exist between the City of Groton Police Department and the community that we police," he said.

k.drelich@theday.com