Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) meets with Bell Gardens Police Chief Keith Kilmer shown above prior to a tour of the police department's communication center. During the visit, Police Chief Kilmer thanked the congresswoman for her assistance in securing $600,000 in federal funds in 2000 to replace the police department's dispatch system with a new state-of-the-art Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and $150,000 last year to upgrade the department's emergency police communication system with new digital portable radios. The digital radios enable the department's police officers to communicate more effectively with other law enforcement agencies during emergencies, thereby enhancing the department's homeland security capabilities. About the new equipment, Chief Kilmer said: "This new equipment allows the police department to more efficiently and rapidly respond to emergency calls for service from our residents." The Bell Gardens Police Department is a force of 57 and responds to approximately 30,000 requests a year for assistance throughout the community.
 

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