Hermosa Beach Joins Regional Public Safety Radio System

HERMOSA BEACH, CA — Hermosa Beach is joining six South Bay cities in launching a new regional public safety radio system this month that will help protect the public and first responders, the City of Hermosa Beach announced Tuesday.

The new regional public safety radio system will make it possible for the six cities' police officers and firefighters to speak to one another and stay in contact with their dispatch centers when they travel beyond their city limits, the City of Hermosa Beach announced Tuesday.

"Communications are critical to an effective response in an emergency, and we are proud of the Hermosa Beach Police Department’s leadership in this joint effort to secure federal funding and establish an expanded and improved public safety communications system that will greatly enhance public safety throughout the South Bay," Hermosa Beach Mayor Stacey Armato said.

Since 2017, the cities of Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance have worked together as the Interoperability Network of the South Bay (INSB) to enhance regional public safety communications, the press release said.

The new regional digital communications system launched in September 2019 with firefighters in the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance "going live" on the system. This month, police officers from all seven member cities will "go live" on the system, with Hermosa Beach Police Department scheduled to start using the new system on Oct. 29. Some non-public safety municipal users will migrate onto the new shared system at a later date, the press release said.

The system will improve communications among the cities and with Los Angeles County Fire Department, and it will also help protect first responders and the public by encrypting radio transmissions to prevent active shooters and criminals from monitoring and responding to police officers' and firefighters' movements and tactics.

"Encryption also will protect the private information police collect from crime victims — such as drivers license numbers and medical conditions — from being shared over the airwaves with unscrupulous persons who might misuse that information," the press release said.

The radio transmissions will continue to be available to the public after the event through filing a Public Records Act request.

"While we understand that some members of the public like to monitor public safety radio traffic, these unencrypted broadcasts place our first responders in danger because the criminals we are pursuing can also monitor our transmissions and plan their responses based on those communications," Hermosa Beach Acting Chief Milton McKinnon said. "The transition to encrypted radio transmissions will help protect police officers, firefighters and the public by ensuring criminals can no longer listen to our communications."

INSB serves a population of about 560,000 and responds to almost 500,000 service calls each year. INSB’s extended operating area covers about 100 square miles from LAX to Lomita and from the beaches to the Alameda Corridor, the press release said.

The Urban Areas Security Initiative and Homeland Security Grant Program provided $6 million in grants for the new public safety radio system. INSB members invested approximately $9 million to replace existing handheld and vehicle-mounted radios, which were not eligible for grant funding. INSB member agencies fund the ongoing operation of the system.