Why can police radios transmit over long distances even though the transmitter is very small?

Question

Like a police officer’s handheld radio is able to transmit to another unit let’s say 10 miles away, and he’s able to do that with ease. How is this possible? How come handheld radios that we have access to can’t do that? I know this probably sounds dumb to most of ya’ll but

In: 108

Answer 1

First responders typically have whole radio networks built out that cover the whole territory they’re assigned to. It’s much like wifi, with a series of antennas and amplifiers and other equipment to ensure there’s adequate coverage to allow relatively low powered handsets to operate.