Despite St. Joseph County's budget problems for next year, police are asking county commissioners to somehow find money for two new tools: GPS tracking of squad cars and a new radio system for officers.

Sheriff Frank Canarecci and his 911 director, Lt. Brent Croymans, made the requests in a meeting Tuesday with commissioners. Croymans said tracking the department's 64 marked cars and six transportation vehicles with global positioning system technology would quicken response times because dispatchers, by looking at a computer screen on their desktops, could instantly know which officers are closest to a location when a call for service comes in.

The GPS signal also would help administrators ensure that officers are where they are supposed to be, the sheriff said.

"If you have an officer who is a slacker, who goes home on his midnight shift, or stays at a restaurant for a couple of hours, we're going to know about it," Canarecci said.

A contract to service the GPS system would cost $23,000 a year, plus about $17,000 to equip the cars with the GPS units.

Croymans said the South Bend and Mishawaka police departments already track their squad cars with GPS.

Canarecci and Croymans also asked commissioners for money to lease a new 800-MHz radio system for officers. Two years ago, Croymans led an effort to secure about $10 million for a countywide 800-MHz system that would let all police, fire and emergency management personnel in the county communicate on one frequency, but funding was not available.

Croymans played commissioners a recording of a garbled police radio call in which the words were almost impossible to understand. He said such calls are a daily occurrence. The clarity would improve dramatically with an 800-MHz system, Croymans said.

Unlike the proposal two years ago, this radio request would cover only the county police, and would cost about $28,000 a year more than the $119,000 the department spends on its existing radio system. It could cost up to $44,000 more to disable tower transmitters now being used, if tower owners would require that.

Combined, the GPS and radio requests could cost up to $88,000 next year. Commissioners told The Tribune that they support both ideas in concept, but didn't yet know whether money could be found to pay for them.

"When you have scarce resources, you have to look for the best bang for the buck," commissioner President Bob Kovach said. "We have officers asking for raises. Do you deal with raises? Equipment? Medical bills for inmates? We'll have to wait until the budget sorts out. If we had unlimited resources, yes, we'd upgrade the radio system in a heartbeat. But can we do everything the departments want? I don't think so."

Commissioner Dave Thomas said he wants to find a way to fund both requests. He said the costs might be covered by revenue from the recent passage of the 0.25 percent public safety option income tax .

Scott Ruszkowski, president of South Bend Police Department's Fraternal Order of Police, said that department has had GPS tracking for about 10 years. On a daily basis, its many uses include letting dispatchers help officers quickly set up perimeters around fleeing suspects, determining which officers are closest to a call and locating officers who can't get to or hear their radios.

"It's been an immense help, Ruszkowski said.

Sgt. Russ Haimbaugh, information technology administrator for Mishawaka Police Department, agreed. That department employed a GPS-based tracking system for squad cars about two years ago.

"Being able to track the car is a huge safety factor for the officer," Haimbaugh said. "We don't even need to talk to him to find out where he is."

In the future, when budget issues improve, Haimbaugh said the department hopes to start tracking officers with GPS technology, so they can be located quickly when they are on foot pursuits.