This article was reprinted from the 2002-2003 DAS Biennial Report.

First phase of MARCS completed
-- ITSD MARCS Project Office, July 2003

The 1993 riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville was a prime illustration of the critical need for a statewide public safety communications system. Communication among the various public safety responders was hindered by the lack of interoperability of their various communications systems.

Lucasville prison officials began communicating via the new Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS) in December 2001. It was part of the first of the project's eight phases. Phase 1A, serving central Ohio, was completed in April 2003. As a result, a state-of-the-art digital voice and data transmission system is serving the facilities and vehicles of the Ohio Departments of Natural Resources, Public Safety, Rehabilitation and Correction and Youth Services in the following counties: Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, Ross and Union.

This first phase also included the installation of the central equipment at the State of Ohio Computer Center (SOCC) and Emergency Operations Center.

Local public safety providers also are using MARCS. With the assistance of federal homeland security funding supplied by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, local Union County public safety providers are utilizing the digital voice transmission capabilities of MARCS in a pilot program. The purpose of the pilot is to begin establishing complete public safety interoperability.

The MARCS program office, which is operated by DAS, continues to establish these partnerships with state, county and local public safety and service providers to create true statewide interoperability. MARCS is scheduled to be fully implemented by late 2004.