McCollum, Saint Paul Police Department Celebrate Distribution of New Radios Obtained Through Community Project Funding

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) issued the following statement today after visiting the Radio Shop in Saint Paul, where members of the Saint Paul Police Department were receiving new portable radio equipment and training to help keep our community safe:

"Investing in our community's needs and securing federal resources to benefit Fourth District families is my top priority in Congress," Congresswoman McCollum said. "Saint Paul Police officers now have the state-of-the-art communications equipment they need to quickly and effectively respond to emergencies. I'm pleased that I was able to secure the funds for this project, and I look forward to continuing to work together to keep our community safe."

"These new radios are paramount to effectively supporting our optimal response measures to maintain the safety and security of our residence," said Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. "Thanks to Congresswoman McCollum's leadership to secure this funding, our officers are even better equipped to carry out their public safety mission for our Capital City."

"We're leading a public safety strategy that demands a high level of collaboration between all our public safety partners," said incoming Saint Paul Police Chief Axel Henry. "These new radios allow us to share information with maximum efficiency to ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time."

Background:

Congresswoman McCollum worked with former Chief Todd Axtell and acting Chief Jeremy Ellison on a successful Community Project Funding (CPF) request to benefit Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District by investing community safety.

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View additional photos here.

Project: Saint Paul Police Department Portable Radio Replacement Project ($2,000,000)
Description: The replacement of 600 end-of-life police portable radios is necessary for the City of St. Paul to maintain the ability to effectively respond to public safety needs and sustain interoperable communications among the first responder network within the city and among mutual-aid communities. The City depends on 1,974 radios to provide public safety and services to residents, and 1,215 of those are used by the police department to perform its role in the City's Community First Public Safety strategy. Those radios, first procured in 2003, have been out of manufacturer's support since 2018 and reached their end of life and must be replaced to ensure compatibility with the State of Minnesota's P25 ARMER network. Full replacement of all of the City's radios would cost nearly $10 million, but this project will assist with most critical need in Saint Paul: replacing 600 radios used by sworn officers to investigate, respond to, and prevent crime in the community. This federal funding would be partnered with additional funding procured by the City to sustain the communications necessary to protect and serve the community.

In keeping with the Appropriations Committee's commitment to transparency, information on Rep. McCollum's Community Project Funding requests is available here.

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