City of Corona

For Immediate Release
March 22, 2018

CORONA, CA--This morning, the Corona Police Department upgraded from an analog radio system to a new digital system in use countywide. The new system, Public Safety Enterprise Communications system (PSEC), is compliant with the national standard known as P-25, or Project 25. The P-25 Standard was created to address the patchwork of public safety and government communications technologies throughout the United States that often hindered inter-agency communications. Radio systems compliant with the P-25 standard address radio spectrum congestion and the ability to transmit voice and data in a standardized format, with equipment that allows for communication between agencies, even if public safety and other government agencies are using different communication hardware and software.

Previously, in order for officers to communicate with other dispatch centers or directly with officers from other agencies during an emergency, it was necessary to “patch” the two primary dispatch channels together. Patching tied up those dispatch channels for both agencies and often presented technological challenges. Radios and frequencies in use by one agency were often incompatible with those in use by surrounding agencies, preventing direct communications. These incompatible systems that prevented communication between agencies, along with the related negative effects on public safety and the safety of first responders, came into a national focus following the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

After an analysis of several options, the Corona Police Department joined the County of Riverside’s Public Safety Enterprise Communications system. PSEC provides vastly improved coverage areas for our officers in the field with about 85% of the county covered by PSEC-connected radio towers. Corona is the 15th agency in Riverside County on PSEC with more scheduled to join in the near future. With the new radios and related infrastructure in place, the Corona Police Department is better equipped to monitor and coordinate responses to emergencies in neighboring communities and neighboring agencies can do the same for developing situations in Corona, enhancing the safety of our officers and citizens alike. The PSEC system is encrypted. Radio transmissions may only be monitored by a radio that is authorized to be on the network. The Corona Police Department is exploring ways to keep our citizens informed of emerging incidents via social media.

“By transitioning our radio system to PSEC we are increasing public safety at a local and regional level,” said Sergeant Jason Perez. “This will drastically improve communications during multi-jurisdiction incidents.”  

About the City of Corona: Corona is located adjacent to Orange County California at the junction of the 91 and 15 freeways with a population of more than 160,000 residents. For more information regarding The City of Corona visit www.CoronaCA.gov.

Media Contact
Sergeant Jason Perez
Corona Police Department
Public Information Officer
951-736-2360
Jason.Perez@CoronaCA.gov

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