In an effort to improve communication between area law enforcement agencies, the Jasper Police Department switched its radio system from a digital format to an older analog format Monday morning.

Jasper Police Chief Connie Cooner Rowe said some recent incidents, including a high-speed chase in July involving several agencies, have left Jasper police rethinking their move to the digital format almost a year ago.

"The change happened long before my time as chief, but I do know it was made because many agencies were led to believe that changing to digital would soon be mandatory," she said.

When using the digital communications system, Rowe said radios and scanners in the department had to be encrypted, which made communication with other law enforcement agencies difficult.

"It has caused communication problems, because the Walker County Sheriff's Office and local departments were still analog," she said.

Rowe said several possible solutions were discussed before Capt. Larry Cantrell suggested the switch back to analog.

"Cantrell asked if we couldn't just roll back to analog, and that made more sense than anything else we had discussed," Rowe said. "We made the change this morning and have only had minimal problems."

Lt. Mike Clark said the biggest issue has been some "bleed over" from other frequencies.

"That's a problem we had before the switch," he said. "I think it is something that we can work out."

Clark said the digital format had its issues as well.

"If the communications were ever interupted, it would cause a lot of distortion," he said. "The digital format is also extremely sensitive. Some voice tones, like someone with a very deep voice, could be hard to understand.

Rowe said having the ability to use either format is a luxury for the JPD.

"We have an alternative," she said. "If there is a need for us to switch back to digital again, we've got the capability to utilize either system."

The switch back to analog communication will also allow citizens with home police scanners to hear interaction between officers and dispatchers again, something that wasn't possible with the digital format.

"This will give the public the opportunity to be aware of how hard we are working and how busy we are," Rowe said.