Grambling State University has eight digital radios to help enhance campus security, courtesy of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
GSU Police Department Lt. Ruby Jones said the campus police desperately needed new radios for general safety and security but especially for the many special events.
“Time to time we employ outside agencies to work events with us but we do not have enough radios to issue to them for them to monitor our radio channel and being able to communicate immediately when needed,” said Jones.
She said though the radios are not being used yet, they will provide “quicker response time to a call or emergency situation.”
Jones said the Motorola radios came with chargers and clip-on microphones and can cost up to $1,500 each, something the university could not afford.
The state of Louisiana has a $305,000 federal grant for radios that are being issued to 10 schools, including GSU. About 150 radios are being distributed to Louisiana universities.