Enquire Now
While debate raged over whether the exit poll should be believed, and politicians promised to eat their hats, the management of polling stations across Southend on General Election day 2015 was a much calmer affair.
This was in no small part due to the sophistication of the communications arrangements that had been put in place by Southend Borough Council. In readiness for the big day, Council officers hired digital two way radio equipment from Brentwood Communications.
A week in advance of the election, Brentwood supplied 120 Motorola DP2400 and DP4400 digital radio handsets to the Council for use by the staff running each polling station in the Southend borough. Brentwood’s engineers installed a Motorola DR3000 Repeater and Antenna on the roof of the Civic Centre in Southend, as this was the best position for maximum coverage due to its height and central location in the town.
The Motorola DP2400 and DP4400 have Intelligent Audio that automatically adjusts to compensate for background noise, and noise suppression filters out traffic sounds. These handsets were ideal for the particular security requirements of Southend Borough Council at its polling stations, but they can easily be enhanced for other uses through a simple software upgrade that provides a range of additional key features. Both models have a Panic Button, as well as the Lone Worker function that can set emergency procedures in motion if the user does not check in at the expected time. The DP4400 model can also have a Man Down feature configured, which raises an alarm when it senses an abnormal vertical tilt or lack of movement for a predetermined length of time. Both features aid in securing the safety of the user at risk.
Voting in Southend went ahead without major incident, but the Council was well advised to have robust contingency communications in place on the day.
Local authorities, like other public sector organisations, often have budget restrictions. With Brentwood, there is no need to spend hundreds, or even thousands of pounds on radio equipment. It is possible to hire two way radios from us at a fraction of the purchase cost.
For more information on our range of digital two way radios and accompanying equipment, please call us on 01245 403520 and speak to a member of our team today.
