Through the Department of Justice COPS Law Enforcement Technology Account. Funding is needed to purchase approximately 325 new radios- mobile and portable - for the Concord and Kannapolis Police Departments. The departments’ current radios are 15 years old and are not compatible with the region’s planned radio system upgrade. In 1997, Concord and Kannapolis partnered with Cabarrus County to establish an interoperable county-wide public safety radio system. That radio system expanded the original system that Concord funded and installed in 1994. The current technology is becoming obsolete and there are plans to replace the system with an APCO Project 25 (P25) compliant system to further interoperability capabilities. The P25 system meets federal requirements and is compatible with the State of North Carolina’s interoperability plan (VIPER). Such compatibility will meet the growing population and visitor needs for safety and protection, and the demand for communicating with each other as well as other state and federal law enforcement agencies.