scansomd said:
mstarn said:
You might be hearing encryption. I think that St Marys has capabilty for encryption. My memory is what I forget with - I think St Marys has 6 talk groups that can use the encryption (or can be dedicated to encryption). Cannot remember the groups.
I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has definitive knowledge about the encryption capable groups.
As far as i am aware, the St. Mary's County sheriff's office has two talkgroups that are encrypted at all times. Those are the narcotics TG, which is commonly referred to as the "Narco Channel," and the other is the hostage negotiator TG, commonly referred to as "Negotiator." it seems to me, that otherwise, when a deputy wishes to discuss something of a sensitive nature, either with the dispatcher, or another deputy, they use their Nextels. it should also be noted that not all deputies, in fact very few, seem to have the "Narco channel" and/or the "Negotiator channel" programmed into their radios. several days ago i overheard what i consider to be a pretty sensitive operation, involving both the state police and the county sheriff's office, as well as their combined Bureau of Criminal Investigations, take place on TG 278, which is the common police TG. This TG is referred to as the "Police Channel." This particular TG allows the state police and the sheriff's department, as well as their respective dispatchers, to communicate with each other when the need arises. TG 278 operates in the clear, as do all of the TAC channels. There may be other encrypted TG's, but i listen 24/7 and have yet to hear any others mentioned. I hope that this helps.
Det. John M. Crupi (Ret.)
US Capitol Police Dept.