Danville Joins East Bay Regional Communications System Authority

It's now a whole lot easier for the Danville Police Department to communicate to outside agencies and other town departments.

The town officially joined the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority (EBRCSA) on Tuesday, with Mayor Newell Arnerich and Police Chief Steve Simpkins speaking about the advantages of the system at an event downtown.

The new communication system makes it substantially easier for the Danville Police Department to communicate with 42 other police and regional departments.

"It's just a flip of a switch," Simpkins said. "It used to be we had to use telephones or go through dispatch, but now we can communicate with another agency almost immediately."

The communication system will allow the department to contact other departments quickly if, for example, a suspect is leaving one jurisdiction for another. Also, if there's a large-scale criminal or natural disaster event and Danville needs support from an outside agency, or needs to assist another agency, communication can be made almost instantly.

The new system has advantages inside of Danville. Previously, it was time-consuming for police department to contact out city agencies, like the maintence or parks department.

Now, for big events like the Fourth of July, all the agencies can communicate on one frequency, Simpkins said.