first there seemed to be technical issues with the new system, they were quickly resolved and the department now has full trust in the system. SAPOL still have UHF licences and it is plausible they are available as back-up communication channels. SAPOL uses three primary devices for voice communication over the network. They are Spectra W7 mobile, XTS 5000 portable and Spectra W3 mobile. These can be controlled via the RCH3000 desktop controller, used in fixed locations generally by trained operators. These devices have a number of features that are regularly used in patrols. These features include private call, page alert and telephone interconnect. Private call allows units to directly talk to another unit without dispatch, or other users in the talkgroup to hear. However, this comes with the inability for dispatch to contact either unit. Page function alerts another radio that someone else is attempting to contact them. Telephone interconnect enables units to make and answer calls through the system. However, only supervisors have the ability to make and answer to any number, general patrols are restricted to only a list of certified SAPOL numbers. Each LSA has two assigned 'talkgroups'. COMCEN (Communications) have assigned talkgroup IDs, allowing them to pair an LSA's primary and secondary talkgroups together allowing control to manage two channels at once. The Secondary channel is often used for local/chat, dispatch lowers the volume of the secondary channel, which enables them to monitor the channels and talk to all units on duty in the LSA. Call signs and unit designation identification system SAPOL use location-based call signs. Units are called in by stating the station they come from followed by a designated number. Examples: A unit in Holden Hill could be Holden Hill 16. Traffic Services place a zero (0) before the number, for example, Holden Hill 016 would be a traffic patrol in Holden Hill with the call sign 16. Higher-ranked officers have a different prefix. This is followed after the station name, and before the unit number: Sergeant = Vixen Senior sergeant = Mitre Inspector/chief inspector = Trojan Superintendent/chief superintendent = Baron Example: Holden Hill Mitre 10 is a senior sergeant in Holden Hill with the unit number 10. Notable incidents In 1988 Detective Chief Inspector Barry Moyse (died 2010, aged 65), the former officer in charge of the drug squad was convicted and would serve twenty years in gaol for supplying heroin