encryption

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Oakland Police Department to Cut Public Off from Live Radio Feeds

The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is moving forward with plans to encrypt its radio communications, a decision that will block public and media access to live police scanner feeds. While this change doesn’t directly affect the SCMA Scanner Radio Club, it’s a significant development for scanner enthusiasts, journalists, and transparency advocates. Here’s a deep dive […]

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Another California PD Goes Encrypted

Radio Silence Shuts Out Scanner Listeners: Visalia Police Encrypt All Channels For scanner radio enthusiasts in Visalia, California, the days of tuning into the pulse of local law enforcement are over. As of March 20, 2025, the Visalia Police Department (VPD) has fully encrypted its radio transmissions, effectively silencing the real-time chatter that hobbyists, watchdog

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Article

Mayor Says that Encrypting Police Radio Signals was a Mistake

Palo Alto Mayor Tom DuBois said Friday (Jan. 8) that the police department’s move to encrypting its radio transmissions was a mistake. Palo Alto police began encrypting their radio transmissions Tuesday (Jan. 5) to stop transmitting personally identifiable information over the airwaves because of a policy memo from the state Department of Justice last October.

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OCFA Chief Orders Decryption of Firefighter Radios

The Orange County Fire Authority has reversed its decision to encrypt its radio and dispatch communications that was initiated Monday. The encryption was part of the county’s upgrade of its 800 MHz Countywide-Coordinated Communications System, managed by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Officials said the move was meant to improve public safety agencies’ ability to

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Last of the scanners: Are police security measures and new technologies killing an American obsession?

In a white house on a quiet, leafy street in Takoma Park, Md., lives a man who listens to nothing but mayhem. He is remarkable not because of his appearance — tall, thin, black hair — but for what he has around him at all times: scanners. On this day, the scanners of Alan Henney — whose

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San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Radios Now Digital Encrypted

The following is a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department: Effective February 1, 2018, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department radios will switch from analog to an encrypted digital communication system. The improved communication platform is vital to the safety of our first responders. It will enhance coverage throughout the county, improve the

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Police Department Changes Course, Will Use Both Public and Private Radio Channels

It looks like they are getting encryption right in Nebraska. We hope the So Cal PD’s will follow suit and not lock out scanner listeners from all PUBLIC safety communications. COLUMBUS NE — Columbus Police Chief Chuck Sherer is changing course when it comes to restricting the public’s access to information shared between officers and dispatchers.

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Cops Block Public Access to Radio

As police agencies in the tri-city Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena area settle into new digital radio systems, many departments have made, or are considering making, those communications secret, saying it is a response to a growing propensity of listeners to interfere with operations. After spending $7 million on upgrades to comply with a federal 2013 deadline to switch

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