TETRA technology vital in policing - Kapinga

The recent purchase of the state-of-the-art Tetra Radio Communication System for use by the Botswana Police Air Force and ground operatives illustrates the importance of policing

Acting Police Commissioner, Kenny Kapinga said this yesterday when he called for the acquisition of the new communication technology for the entire Botswana Police Service (BPS) as another way of combating the rising crime wave in the country.

"I become very envious as I travel around the world, when I see police officers in other countries complete with a communication device clipped on their belts and a portable microphone on their shoulders. It is my hope that in the not so distant future we would have made available such devices for our local troops," Kapinga said at the handing over ceremony of the second phase of the Tetra Radio Communication System supplied by Kudu Communications.

The system, which has been installed in 12 base stations sites along the A1 Highway, came in two phases and cost the government P25 million although it could have made a P5 million saving had it been completed in one phase. Kapinga argued that the "best and efficient communication does not come cheap" so if the public security organs succeeded in their war against crime, then such costs were justified. He also suggested the rolling out of the technology to other areas of the country, especially in the Okavango Region (BPS Region 5), which is a tourism zone. The new communication technology allows for efficient communication, as its traceable feature helps with the supervision of the ground forces who might be tempted to stray from their patrol area.

"BPS has made the right choice on the technology as it allows purchase of subscribers from multiple vendors unlike the previous radio which forced us to depend on only one supplier. The cost of subscribers has dropped from P20,000 to less than P10,000 for portable radios," the acting director of the BPS Transport and Telecommunications Branch  said during his project brief. Eight officers have received training on the configuration and maintenance of the system and more than 200 portable radios plus about 50 mobiles have been bought during the 2009/10 financial year with numbers expected to increase towards the end of the year. The Tetra Technology is used by 450 customers in over 85 countries and has sold over one million terminals. It is used by, among others, the Hong Kong police, British Royal Air Force (RAF) and other large public safety organisations across the globe

Source: www.mmegi.bw