Holbrook, Ariz. — In October 2023, the Navajo County Sheriff's Office received a $7.1 million grant from the Department of Emergency Services to assist in combating border-related criminal activity.

The Navajo Nation Sheriff's Office says the funds will be spread across three main areas: communications, enforcement and detention.

A large portion of the grant funding will be utilized to further expand community communications projects that will help fill gaps and expand public safety communications capabilities across the county.

“The funds awarded will be a significant windfall for the entire county by improving critical communications throughout the county,” the Sheriff's Office said in a recent release.

Last year, the Sheriff's Office was able to purchase new radios through a previous grant, and now through a DEMA grant, Navajo County purchased an additional 175 portable radios and 175 handheld radios. These radios will be distributed to all municipal police departments in the county and will essentially replace all radios on all law enforcement vehicles throughout Navajo County.

Additionally, the Sheriff's Office is working to expand its wireless infrastructure, including installing new repeaters and antenna equipment at eight new tower sites across the county.

The Sheriff's Office decided to acquire FirstNet because Navajo County faces geographic challenges in providing cell phone service. A compact fast deployable cell tower (CRD) and two small compact fast deployable cell antennas. The CRD is a portable tower that can extend your cell phone coverage to a 2 mile radius. The Mini CRD is a portable tower that can extend your cell phone range to a 1 mile radius.

This device can also be used in remote areas where cell phone service is limited or non-existent. This is useful for a variety of enforcement and rescue functions, including providing “LTE” cellular coverage for radios, cell phones, and onboard computers.

The Navajo County Sheriff's Office also purchased a license for a mapping system that routes 9-1-1 calls to the appropriate public safety response point and provides a deputy's precise location based on geographic location.

Finally, Navajo County is introducing three new programs to its dispatch center. These are all systematic programs designed to handle specific phones.