Every day, first responders put their lives on the line to keep Floridians safe. What isn’t always appreciated is how important it is for them to be able to communicate effectively. When Hurricane Hermine made landfall, nearly everyone in its path lost power, some for nearly a week. So what would happen if the technology that keeps law enforcement officers in constant communication were to fail? Fortunately, it hasn’t been necessary to ask that question in over 15 years.
The Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) connects all statewide law enforcement around the state on a single reliable network. That system, built and maintained by the Florida-based Harris Corporation, did not experience a moment of failure during Hurricane Hermine. In fact, that system has withstood the last 9 hurricanes that have made landfall in Florida without a single outage. Most of the time, systems like this are only acknowledged when there’s a failure, but in this instance, it’s worth noting consistency and success when law enforcement’s lives are on the line.