THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNICATION PROJECT IN LOUISIANA STARTED WITH THE DESIGN OF A STATEWIDE POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. THE CONTRACT FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM REQUIRED THAT A CONCEPTUAL SYSTEM DESIGN APPROACH BE FOLLOWED AND THAT ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN THE STATE DESIRING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SYSTEM BE INTERVIEWED. INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH INTERVIEWS WAS ANALYZED TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN NEEDS AND WANTS AND TO IDENTIFY NECESSARY SYSTEM COMPROMISES. THE DESIGN OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM PROVIDES ONE OR MORE DISPATCH CHANNELS FOR EACH POLICE DEPARTMENT, SHERIFF'S OFFICE, AND STATE AGENCY. OPERATION ON THESE DISPATCH CHANNELS IS TO HAVE RELATIVELY LITTLE INTERFERENCE FROM OTHER USERS. IN ADDITION, THERE IS TO BE COMMON INTERAGENCY COORDINATION FREQUENCIES IN EACH OF FOUR FREQUENCY BANDS. TWENTY-ONE TOWER SITES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO PROVIDE FACILITIES THAT CAN ACCOMMODATE FIXED RADIO COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR STATE AGENCIES. STATE POLICE, THE LOUISIANA OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT, AND THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES HAVE AGREED THAT THE BACKBONE PORTION OF THE STATEWIDE RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM BE DESIGNED TO ENABLE IT TO ACCOMMODATE A STATEWIDE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEM. THE OVERALL LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM DESIGN, BY EMPLOYING NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF INTERCONNECTING RADIO AND TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT, PROVIDES INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION ON VHF LOW BAND, VHF HIGH BAND, AND BOTH UHF BANDS TO SERVE ALL STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN LOUISIANA. ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM INCLUDE TELEPHONE INTERFACE EQUIPMENT, CONTROL CENTERS, BASE STATIONS, REPEATERS, CONTROL STATIONS, MOBILE RADIO TRANSCEIVERS, PORTABLE RADIO TRANSCEIVERS, CONVERTIBLE RADIO TRANSCEIVERS, PAGERS, AND SCRAMBLERS. SYSTEM OPERATION ENCOMPASSES AGENCY DISPATCHING, TRANSIENT OPERATION, INTERFACING WITH OTHER AGENCIES, EMERGENCY CALLING, AND PAGING. AN ILLUSTRATION OF TOWER SITE LOCATIONS, TABULAR DATA, AND THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED IN INTERVIEWS ARE PROVIDED. (DEP)