Crook County’s aging law enforcement communications system is getting a major boost with a grant that will improve emergency coverage in the county’s most remote areas with high-tech equipment.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office and Prineville Police Department will share in the $473,000 Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Prineville Police Chief Eric Bush said the grant, which is administered through the Oregon Military Department’s Office of Emergency Management, is designed to allow multi-ple emergency agencies to upgrade and link their communications systems.

Though other local law enforcement agencies have upgraded to new tools like mobile data terminals — in-car laptops that allow officials to search for information or communicate without the aid of a dispatcher — Crook County has lagged behind, depending on 1970s-vintage radio systems and running most calls through the 911 dispatch center. Now, with stricter technology requirements from the federal government on the way, Bush said it’s more than time for some improvements.

“There are a number of significant technical infrastructure upgrades being required, and they are necessary — our radio systems in Crook County are all interdependent, sheriff, police, fire … and the system itself, particularly in outlying areas, is more than 30 years old,” he said.

Brandon Smith, a commander with the Crook County Sheriff’s Office, said county officials have been slowly upgrading their radios but now need to make changes to the repeater sites that allow them to function. He said the Federal Communications Commission is now requiring a switch from wide-band to narrow-band radios so that more people can use the airwaves.

With the money from the grant, Crook County officials will be able to make the switch and extend the reach of the radio system into rural areas.

“We’re fortunate that we’re using mostly all grant money, so we’re not impacting local dollars at all, and it’s going to help us respond to the outlying areas,” he said.

The upgrades will allow Crook County officials to communicate with emergency personnel in Jefferson County, where Sheriff Jack Jones said his office has been using mobile data terminals since last year. Jones said the terminals, which Crook County hopes to have in place within the next two years, have helped cut down on the demands placed on traditional communications systems and freed up dispatchers to take more calls.

“It’s been really good, and cut down on a lot of dispatch traffic,” Jones said. “Officers are able to do more in the field, to (communicate) from car to car within the vehicle. With your cell, computer, regular land line and the radio itself, it gives you that backup in case you’re in a situation where one goes down.”

Crook County Sheriff Rodd Clark said the grant still needs to go through final approval at the Crook County Court.