PROVIDENCE - The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) notified U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) that the Providence Police Department will receive $5,608,815 in federal funding to develop interoperable communications networks that enable emergency service personnel to communicate directly during crisis. The grants will assist in paying for the cost of purchasing voice and data communications equipment, enhancing communications infrastructures, and project management.In an August 2005 letter to the Director of the Department of Justices COPS program Carl Peed, Reed wrote, Currently there is a large interoperability gap throughout both the Providence Metropolitan Statistical Area and the State of Rhode Island. There is no common radio frequency amongst public safety agencies, severely hampering their ability to respond swiftly to emergencies. A recent statewide assessment called the interoperability of the communication system inadequate, highlighting the need for improvement.Four years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, local emergency officials and first responders in many communities are still unable to reliably communicate with one another during disasters. And the failure to improve communications equipment since that attack drastically hindered the efforts to save lives during Hurricane Katrina.The grants were awarded under COPS Interoperable Communications Technology Grant program, which increases in the number of interoperable communications systems used nationally by law enforcement, fire service, and emergency medical service agencies in the same metropolitan area. Each city is required to provide a 25 percent match of the federal funds, which were capped at $6 million.Reed stated, The capability of firefighters, federal disaster officials, police and the military to communicate with one another to coordinate as a crisis develops is the key to saving lives.The 9/11 Commission investigating the terrorist attacks stated The inability to communicate was a critical element at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites, where multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions responded. The occurrence of this problem at three very different sites is strong evidence that compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations at the local, state, and federal levels remains an important problem.