Jul 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Mary Rose Roberts

The Pennsylvania State Police's Lancaster barracks started a pilot program to test a new, statewide public-safety radio system to give troopers, first responders and local officials the ability to coordinate response efforts more effectively, according to the department.

The Governor's Office of Administration and Office of Public Radio Systems worked in conjunction with M/A-COM to build the system. When fully implemented, the 800 MHz radio system will let troopers communicate directly with the state's Department of Transportation, Department of Health and other agencies. Troopers also will be able to bridge to other first-responder radio systems, including municipal police and county dispatch centers.

In other news, the state police said it is expanding its mobile office project with the addition of a Truck Inspection Unit. The unit uses BIO-Key's MobileCop product to monitor whether commercial vehicles driven in the state are compliant with state and federal regulations. The product lets law enforcement officers send messages to others in the system, complete field reports, log activities, access criminal databases and more, according to BIO-Key.

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