So far the New Year has been positive and it seems the City is getting back on the right track. Stockton Police has been working very hard to deal with the crime and it shows. I am optimistic and I feel if we keep on the path were are on then we can make this City the "All American City", once more.
The Stockton Police department has transitioned their communications from analog to digital. You have to have a digital scanner to listen to the radio traffic. The department did release a press release about the transition, but did in a way that was I feel sneaky and not really transparent. However, it is done and it seems to be working, but the Officers have had issues communicating and sometimes they have not been able to communicate. I think this is the growing pains of a new system, and I think it will get better over time. Sometimes when officers are trying to transmit their voices are distorted or the volume is to low and the dispatchers cannot hear or understand them. Stockton Police has a super Communications division with professional dispatchers and call takers, and all of them are good at what they do--this is a plus and the officers can feel confident that they will not be left alone!
I got an email from another Police agency in the area and it said that the agency was not notified about the upgrade to digital communications and this meant that no longer could they communicate or broadcast on Stockton Police Channels if they needed to. The issue was resolved, and apparently all the agencies in the area had upgrades to their radios so that they could still use their analog radios, but communicate on Stockton Police frequencies if they needed to. The sheriffs, Stockton Unified School Police, UOP Police, Amtrak Police, the Rail Road Police, Port Police, and Delta College Police before the transition had the capability to switch their radios to Stockton Police Frequencies and communicate. This ability is necessary because sometimes for example the Port Police are in a pursuit, they can switch over to Stockton PD and get help, call the pursuit, and broadcast vital information in any dynamic situation. This ability ensures officer safety, protects the public, and allows for interoperability so that agency dispatchers do not have to call Stockton and relay the information in third person. It cuts out the the third person and allows agencies to go right to the dispatcher, and most of the time Stockton will shut down the channel and give the broadcasting agency the air and this paramount because resources and help can be dispatched and kept up to date in real time.
SUSD Police all the time when needed will transmit on Stockton PD Channel for assistance with pursuits, and SPD dispatch will close the channel and give SUSD the air to call the pursuit. This is just one example there are many other times that this will happen. The Co Op Valley Units which is a group of CHP, Sheriff, Stockton Police and other departments participating--their mission is to recover stolen vehicles and apprehend those responsible for taking them. The Valley Units communicate primarily using nextel phones, or on a CHP channel. They also will use Stockton Police when they need assistance with a felony stop, or when they are in pursuit.
According to the police department the transition and upgrade to digital would not require additional money, and that the transition had begun around 10 years ago. I know that all public safety agencies in America have to transition to digital by 2013, and this is law. I hope that Stockton Police Administrators made the right choice and it was the right time for digital.
Manteca Police, Ripon Police, Tracy Police, and Delta College Police all use digital communications. Manteca and Tracy have used digital for the last two or more years. In Stockton though, there are several police agencies who have not made the transition. This includes: University of the Pacific Police/Public Safety, Stockton Unified School District Police, San Joaquin County Sheriffs Department, and the Port Police at the Port of Stockton. The other drawback to the timing and switch to digital is that most of the agencies listed above have scanners in their patrol cars, which previous to the transition allowed other agencies to monitor Stockton Police communications, this was beneficial because other agencies could hear information. An example where another agency was able to assist in the apprehension of an armed robbery suspect that had just occurred, happened recently. An armed robbery call was dispatched and Stockton Police were en route, but the suspect already fled the scene, but two UOP Police Officers spotted the suspect vehicle. The location was the 7-11 on Pershing, and the UOP Officers followed the vehicle and when Stockton Police Units caught up to the trailing Officers, a stop was attempted and a pursuit ensued.
The UOP Officers quick response and observation was a decisive factor in the apprehension of this dangerous armed subject. The pursuit lasted almost 35 mins and ended in the Unincorporated area at Waverly Road. A gun was recovered, no one was hurt, the officers were safe, and this dangerous person was taken into custody. This subject probably would have been able to get away, but because of a scanner and the UOP Officers ability to hear the call, the fast response and keen observation allowed this call to end with a bad guy in jail.
If you want to listen live to scanner traffic from the Stockton Police and other agencies in the area please visit this link Scanner Feed-ScanStockton.com , this streaming feed is hosted by RadioReference.com . There are several options to listen including, Windows Media Player,Real Player,Winamp, Web Player, and Java Web Player.
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