Motorola joins fight against pirates in Seychelles

Threats from pirates hijacking local fishing boats and organised gangs using isolated beaches to traffic illegal drugs afflicts the Seychelles islands; however, the Government of the Republic of Seychelles is fighting back by equipping police with real-time information to fight against crime with a Motorola Solutions MOTOTRBO digital radio system.

The communications network will be the first to cover the demanding geography of the Seychelles’ 115 islands and surrounding areas in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa, enabling improved dispatch of officers across land and sea for rapid and effective response to criminal activities.

“The deployment of this network is a milestone in the history of our police force, another big step forward in its quest toward modernisation and a big boost to its general field operations,” said Joel Morgan, Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, The Seychelles.

Patrolling the region has been an ongoing challenge for the police force where mountainous island terrain severely disrupts analog radio and cellular communications coverage. Designed and installed by Communication Specialists Limited (Comm-Spec), the reach of the new digital radio network was extended with MOTOTRBO DR 3000 repeaters which provide more than 30,000 square kilometres of radio coverage, blanketing the islands and surrounding ocean for the first time.

“By deploying a dedicated MOTOTRBO integrated digital radio network, the police now have access to real-time communications that provide a seamless, reliable, scalable and secure alternative to the islands’ previously inconsistent analog radio and cellular networks,” said Tim Clark, director, sales channel products and programmes, Europe and Africa, Motorola Solutions.

The MOTOTRBO radio system now connects more than 800 police officers with dispatch at Police Headquarters in the islands’ capital, Victoria.

The investment in the digital radio system is also reducing unplanned costs for the Seychelles Police, as officers would rely on personal mobile phones to make calls to headquarters when their analog radios failed to connect, despite poor cellular coverage and high call costs.

Comm-Spec also introduced the very high frequency (VHF) version of the MOTOTRBO DP4801 to the force’s radio fleet with integrated global positioning system (GPS), while police vehicles were installed with MOTOTRBO DM4401 mobile radios.

Motorola said that all radios deliver advanced location-based services, including geo-fencing, which enables the control centre to track, monitor and, should an officer’s status unexpectedly change, respond quickly throughout the islands.

Using the TRBOnet Communication System, an application developed specifically for public safety dispatch centres, the Seychelles Police are also able to link multiple agencies or departments at the touch of a button, improving response time during emergency situations.

Image courtesy of David Stanley under CC