Safety department highlights trooper increases, statewide radio build and school‑safety work; DDL voluntary and privacy‑protected
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Summary
The Department of Safety told the Finance Committee its trooper ranks have expanded, a statewide interoperable radio network is being built faster than first planned, and school‑safety grants and behavioral health liaisons are strengthening local capacity.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security summarized staffing increases, communications upgrades and school‑safety programs for the Finance Committee on Oct. 29.
Commissioner Jeff Long said the department has received no ARPA funds, does not anticipate federal‑funding loss and emphasized investments made in recent years: additional state trooper positions, an expansion of homeland‑security agents and the statewide communications build‑out (TACN). He said Motorola committed to a faster four‑year build‑out at current‑day prices rather than an eight‑year schedule, and that the project already supports tens of thousands of users across hundreds of agencies (78,466 users, 167 agencies cited in testimony) (02:37:23).
Communications network and emergency response: Long said TACN radios and the network provided lifesaving benefits during Hurricane Helene and other incidents; the department reported reallocation of approximately 2,000 radios to distressed and at‑risk counties and noted wide interagency adoption is planned as build‑out continues.
Trooper staffing and traffic enforcement: Colonel Matt Perry, Tennessee Highway Patrol, described growth in trooper ranks from the 900‑range to over 1,300 uniformed troopers and said the department’s minimum staffing analysis points to a longer‑term target of about 1,600 troopers to match population and vehicle miles traveled. Perry linked trooper presence and traffic enforcement to declines in fatalities, reporting year‑to‑date drops in fatal crashes compared with prior years (02:46:52).
Digital driver’s license and privacy: Committee members asked about Tennessee’s new digital driver’s license (DDL). Department counsel Elizabeth Stroker said the state’s program will be voluntary, provided at no cost to users via contracted vendors, and that the statute and contracting limits resale or re‑use of data and ban biometric re‑use and geolocation tagging. She confirmed the statute explicitly prohibits use of the mobile credential for voting purposes (00:16:55 in DDL Q&A block).
School resource officers and behavior supports: The department reiterated that SRO grants were very popular, and staff said recent slight dips in participation are primarily attributable to recruitment and retirements at the local level; they said SRO numbers are expected to rebound as local agencies refill positions. The committee also discussed the state effort to place school‑based behavioral health liaisons funded through the mental‑health trust, which department and education witnesses said is increasing capacity in many districts (02:37:23).
Bottom line: The Department of Safety framed the TACN build and trooper increases as foundational to public safety and emergency response while confirming DDL privacy safeguards and reiterating the local‑partnered nature of school‑safety investments. Members requested continued updates on DDL contracting, the communications build‑out and staffing metrics.
