NYS Troopers in/near Rochester?

[Nightjock]

I can get a lot of traffic from the NYSP. I get Syracuse, I get Buffalo. I just don't get Rochester!

I'm having a hard time getting ANYTHING from Troop E. Their area includes Monroe and Ontario County.

I have double checked my settings with the database here and NF2G.

All I get is an ambulance company on 154.9050 (using "search" they pop up on DCS125)

Is anyone having any luck with Troop E? Have the Troopers gone digital? Do I have the right data? Are they dispatched through another agency?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[c0untyb0y]

Most SP cars nowadays utilize the county PSAP/911 centers for their complaints. Troop channels, if anything like in Troop D, have just basically become data channels. You should be receiving some traffic on the troop/car frequencies, and statewide too out of the control points like Canandaigua.

The state certainly hasn't gone digital yet, they're barely just getting around to tackling the narrowbanding of radios!

Also don't forget too that a lot of the radio traffic you're used to hearing is slowly being replaced by MDTs in the cars and at the stations. BOLOs and alerts that are considered sensitive (explicitly stating do not broadcast this!) are given out as messages in their mobile terminal system. You may hear the control point on the air tell troopers to check their "I/Mobile" or MDT for a message.

You still though should at least be hearing units on the air on troop, especially the HQ units who call in/out of service.

154.9050/154.7700 Troop E base/car
155.6250 Troop E info (note - not all troops have a "info" channel)
154.6650 car to car channel
154.6950 State channel (BOLOs, alerts, alt disp ch, etc.)

hope this helps

 

[DaveNF2G]

I don't know whether Monroe County's ECD has taken over NYSP dispatch yet or not, but that is the trend around the state. Troop E in Ontario County is mainly dispatched by the county's dispatch center. Integration of NYSP into local communications started in the Rochester area with the GRIP program (Greater Rochester Interstate Patrol), which led to NYSP cars having UHF radios installed so they could talk to the locals when they needed to.

 

[SteveC0625]

I just posted an answer to this question a few days ago in another thread here in the NY group.

Ontario County dispatches the SP's on the county sheriff's frequencies. They are treated just like any other district car within the county. SP dispatch was shut down and merged into Ontario County's 911 PSAP. They utilize the Ontario County MDT system.

In Monroe County, it is much the same although the SP's do their own V&T work, especially on the expressways outside the city. In the city, the SP's are treated as district cars and are primary responders on the expressways in the city by contract. They utilize Monroe County's radio systems and the SP-owned laptops are connected to Monroe County MDT interfaces and radios.

I can't speak for any other counties covered by Troop E, but if you aren't hearing any SP traffic on the SP channels assigned to Troop E. it's a pretty safe bet that they are operating in the same fashion in those counties, too.

For a long time, the SP's operated pretty much independently from local law enforcement. In some counties, they were/are the only road patrol. In others, there was some pretty fierce competition years ago for calls for service. The word went out that the SP's were to get friendly with and work together with the local law enforcement. This started maybe 20 years ago or so. Rochester PD's early contract with the SP's to cover the x-ways really showed that they could all work together.

 

[DaveNF2G]

The attitude change within NYSP came from the top. One or two Superintendents ago, the guy in charge thought of NYSP as New York's own FBI. He believed that the State Police could operate best if they were totally separate from all other law enforcement, and would have preferred that nobody be able to monitor their communications for any reason. He was an early driver toward SWN, and strongly influenced (if not devised) NYSPIN's very tight access policies. (He and Governor Pataki had similar ideas about "protecting" the government.)

The current Superintendent is not so secretive or isolationist. Nor is the current Governor.

 

[SteveC0625]

Two other major items have contributed to the near silent air on the SP channels: MDT's and cell phones. Both allow officers to talk to each other privately.

In a lot of cases, police officers on the street do their own callbacks via cell phone to complainants now. Saves the translation of the middle man and the officer can ask his questions his way.

The MDT's have eliminated a huge percentage of information moving over the audible airwaves. Vehicle and driver datas are a verbal rarity. Detailed info on routine jobs doesn't get read over the air any more. The list is endless and growing. Some of you might be amazed at the amount of business that is transacted minute to minute by agencies that have MDT's with virtually no voice radio traffic.