LA County selects Raytheon to upgrade public safety dispatch consoles for sheriff, fire departments

Raytheon Company RTN has been chosen by Los Angeles County to replace legacy emergency dispatch consoles with new ones that can easily be expanded for emerging public safety technologies such as Long Term Evolution, a high-speed, wireless broadband data network. Under a $12.5 million contract, Raytheon will replace all public safety communications consoles for the sheriff and fire departments, allowing them to be more responsive to their communities while raising efficiency and lowering maintenance costs. "Our first responders deserve the best equipment to save lives," said Mike Prout, vice president of Security and Transportation Systems for Raytheon's Network Centric Systems business. "Raytheon provides innovative technologies that every sheriff's deputy or firefighter can rely on." When the twin-screen consoles are in place, public safety dispatchers can readily see which units are available and have the shortest response time in handling both routine and emergency incidents. For L.A. County, the changes will also bring about increased interoperability between jurisdictions.