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the questionnaires used are included in this report in Appendix A. The questionnaires were circulated to all fire service agencies in Anoka County. The questionnaires circulated to law enforcement agencies were sent with instructions to ask that groups of patrol officers on different shifts respond. Copies of all questionnaires received have been sent to Mr. John Tonding at Anoka County Central Communications. 2.2.2 Results of the Analysis of Questionnaires An analysis of the results obtained through an analysis of the questionnaires that were returned are included in this report as Appendix B and Appendix C. In general, the fire service responses indicated a significant concern with the reliability of the fire radio systems in use and with coverage. A very important deficiency mentioned is covering of transmissions on the radio channel caused because the channel is a single frequency, simplex channel. Often, a firefighter in the field is unaware of another firefighter transmitting and, therefore, the unaware firefighter also begins to transmit and the two transmissions interfere with each other and neither transmission is understandable. This problem is occurring on a more frequent basis as the activity levels related to population growth in Anoka County continue to increase. During the review of the questionnaires, the fire service representatives on the project workgroup did an informal survey of fire service entities in regard to the pager radio coverage. The fire service representatives determined that pager radio coverage is poor except in the central part of Anoka County. There were frequent reports of no reception at all or that reception was highly dependent on the direction one faces when a page alert is received. The analysis of the Anoka County law enforcement radio questionnaire returns indicated that the law enforcement radio users have identified the following six critical deficiencies: • Congestion is a major problem with the main dispatch channels over - saturated during busier periods. Officers show fewer reports of car stops and fewer reports of out -of -car during busier months with safety concerns as a result. There are also fewer reports to dispatch of on -the -scene during busier periods with is an operational problem for dispatchers. • Coverage is less than desirable with coverage using portable radios inside rated as a critical deficiency in many areas of the County. • The overall reliability of the radio system is also rated a critical concern. • Interference on the radio channels resulting in covering or garbling of transmissions is rated a critical deficiency. The interference causes confusion and results in less effectiveness and efficiency, and interference from other radio systems is growing as other radio systems are also becoming busier with time. • Potential jamming of the main dispatch channel is rated to be a critical concern, especially because of the ongoing jamming of law enforcement main channels in Hennepin County. Ronald Vegemast Engineering, Inc. -9- Report Anoka County