Why does the police officer still carry around those big bulky walkie talkie?

I seen a few cops today %26amp; they were carrying huge 18 inch walkies. It's 2008 the age of technological advance then why dont they invent a walkie as small lightweight as a cell phone for the cops?Why does the police officer still carry around those big bulky walkie talkie?
They do have them. ...it's all up to the department to invest the money in buying new ones. Maybe that department is just broke. Trooper3316 makes some good points though. ...but I think I know what you're referring to. Some departments have out-dated equipment. As Trooper says, they are expensive to replace. Imagine a big city that employs 5000 police officers.... multiply that by the cost per raidio and you have millions of dollars to buy new ones.Why does the police officer still carry around those big bulky walkie talkie?
Besides cost, reliability, range and battery life we have also found that the smaller radios are to easy, especially for soft clothes officers, to lose.



Most of the police radios are the same power and depend on repeaters, either fixed in cities or in the cars in rural areas. Almost all are FM so there is no bouncing off the ionosphere (way to un reliable for the police)



My department started switching to the latest Motorolas a while back. they were small but the batteries would not even last a shift. very bad news when there is problem and everyone is out busting their humps trying to keep the peace.



We went back tot the HT and Radius series. Bigger, heavier, just as flexible and a much longer battery time.Why does the police officer still carry around those big bulky walkie talkie?
Size is a trade off, as the smaller sizes will not have as much power, or as much battery life. This could be important if you have a beat that is not near the station, and your battery needs to last your whole shift.



It could also be important in a larger city, where tall buildings reduce the effective range of your radio.



Budgeting for newer radios can be a problem too... our department is switching to Motorola MT 1000 radios, they cost about $5,800 each. After three years, about half of our 24 officers have them.
bigger batteries = more relyability during an emergancy



the radios are also designed to go through the entire city. if you go to smaller radios then you get a smaller range. i wouldnt want to rely my life on a 5 or 10 mile range radio