Deschutes 911 radio report outlines ‘failed effort’

Deschutes County 911 implemented a radio system in July 2017 that led to poor communication and officer safety issues, according to a newly released report. C ounty commissioners met Monday to discuss exactly what went wrong.

The county contracted with Texas-based Trott Communications to conduct what’s called an “after-action review” of the radio system’s troubles. In the nearly 50-page report released Monday, the company said the system installation was a “failed effort.”

The radio system was designed and implemented by Harris Corp. T he report said many users experienced communication issues immediately.

T rott said the county’s contract with Harris should have provided seven critical items, but actually only provided three.

Among the items it said were missing from the contract were guaranteed coverage to portable radios and user training.

“Unfortunately, we were trying to train the officers on radios that we were still learning ourselves,” said Sara Crosswhite, interim director of Deschutes County 911. “In hindsight, had Harris provided the training, the on-site user training, that probably would’ve been beneficial.”

Crosswhite was hired after the switch to the new system was made and the previous director resigned. She said Deschutes County 911 still has an open relationship with Harris Communications.

Crosswhite said the radio system has improved due to efforts since the problems arose. In the beginning, she said, there were between 30 and 40 troubleshooting tickets a week with the system. Now, they are down to about eight a week.

While fire services did not move to the radio system initially, Trott’s report said they will start using the system in April, and will have the benefit of learning from past mistakes.