The Caneyville Police Department is encountering issues with its radio system.
Caneyville Police Chief Anthony Clark recently reported to the Caneyville City Commission, during the regularly scheduled Monday, May 13 meeting, that when he is on patrol, he cannot hear Grayson County E-911 Dispatchers contact him via the radio system in his vehicle.
Clark said he either hears no sound or a “squealing” noise from his radio when it is turned on.
The Grayson County Sheriff’s Department has encountered similar issues when deputies are in Caneyville, as well.
Grayson County Sheriff Rick Clemons said in a separate interview that radio communication in Caneyville has been an issue for nearly a year.
Several dead spots in the city limits of Caneyville have caused the GCSD has difficulty transmitting and receiving signal via the radio, he said.
“It’s a very dangerous situation,” Clemons said. “That radio is our lifeline.”
The Commission asked Clark if similar problems have occurred when using cell phones in Caneyville.
Clark said cell phones can be used, but there will be a time delay.
Clemons said cell phones cannot always be counted on in dangerous situations because there is not always service in some areas.
The inability to effectively communicate has resulted in a number of complaints from Dispatch toward Clark because he does not respond to Dispatchers’ calls, he reported to the Commission.
Clark said he checked to make sure the issue wasn’t with a faulty piece of equipment he had overlooked but found that all of his vehicle’s radio equipment was up-to-date and functional.
After checking his radio equipment, Clark said he contacted Assistant Dispatch Director Kim Miller to inform her of the issues he has encountered and explain why he has been unable to respond to Dispatch’s calls, and the two of them discussed possible solutions to his problem.
Miller contacted RCS Communications, the Grayson County emergency responders’ wireless communications service located in Louisville, and RCS has agreed to visit Caneyville this week to examine the radios and determine whether there is an issue that the company can resolve, Clark said.
According to Clark, there are four repeaters in Grayson County that provide signal for the emergency responders radio systems.
In the past, RCS has suggested installing a repeater and antenna in the Caneyville area to improve signal strength; however, the cost of purchasing and installing would cost $20,000, Clark said.
Clark mentioned that the Sheriff’s deputies have installed in-car repeaters in their vehicles, the cost of which is significantly less than an on-site repeater.
However, Clemons said despite the installation of in-car repeaters in the trunks of all his deputies’ vehicles, signal is still sparse in Caneyville.
Clemons said he filed a complaint with RCS last week concerning the poor signal, also.
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