Conroe Texas PD - Very Quiet

Need some help please. I live in Conroe Texas in Montgomery County just north of Houston Harris County.

In the last two days Conroe PD has gone very quiet. I hear what sounds like the carrier but no audio. This is on Conroe PD-1. I have a Uniden BCD436 with ProVoice.

Any idea on what they may have done? I am hoping it is not encryption.

Thanks

I believe they have TGs assigned on TXWARN, is it possible they flipped from MoCo EDACS to TXWARN?


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PD 1 sounds like it is using some type of encryption. There is a hissing noise when it appears someone is transmitting. All other (County FD Dispatch/EMS) are in the clear.

You should still get a subscriber ID when they key up even if it's encrypted. Anything?


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It seems Conroe PD has turned on Encryption on all their traffic now including PD1 the dispatch channel. They moved to the newer Montgomery County P25 system a while back with most of the other users of the old MD EDACS system (Conroe Fire, MCHD etc...). If you listen to the Conroe PD talkgroups on this system you can definitely hear the encrypted traffic sounds.

The old MC EDACS system has still been running with traffic patched from the new P25 system for a while as they were in transition. I am surprised they still have it running since it looks like all the users have migrated. If you listen to the Conroe PD talkgroups on here you do not hear the encryption but only a hissing or blank carrier. I suspect that the patch from the P25 does not send the encrypted traffic.

I guess they must have flipped the switch on the P25 to encrypt a few days ago. I am surprised that they turned on encryption on the dispatch channel. I know a lot of agencies that use encryption leave it off on the main dispatch channel. This is a sad thing they have decided to encrypt all traffic.

Check out CISD PD. Dispatch and Tacs are encrypted, while all other TGs are clear. I still wonder what the district is hiding from the taxpayers in the district.

rb999 said:

It seems Conroe PD has turned on Encryption on all their traffic now including PD1 the dispatch channel. They moved to the newer Montgomery County P25 system a while back with most of the other users of the old MD EDACS system (Conroe Fire, MCHD etc...). If you listen to the Conroe PD talkgroups on this system you can definitely hear the encrypted traffic sounds.

The old MC EDACS system has still been running with traffic patched from the new P25 system for a while as they were in transition. I am surprised they still have it running since it looks like all the users have migrated. If you listen to the Conroe PD talkgroups on here you do not hear the encryption but only a hissing or blank carrier. I suspect that the patch from the P25 does not send the encrypted traffic.

I guess they must have flipped the switch on the P25 to encrypt a few days ago. I am surprised that they turned on encryption on the dispatch channel. I know a lot of agencies that use encryption leave it off on the main dispatch channel. This is a sad thing they have decided to encrypt all traffic.

Click to expand...

Thats what they did here in Brownsville when they went Full Encryption Dispatch and all....

Conroe PD

Conroe PD is Full encryption on MCHD P25 System!

Conroe Police Department Encryption

Conroe Police was operating on both a P25 and EDACS system for some time, with radios on both systems and P25 patched to EDACS. The P25 system was previously clear, as was the EDACS (was analog, not provoice).

Conroe Police turned on encryption around 4:30 pm on Wednesday, January 27, 2106 for the majority of radios. The dispatch console went encrypted around 6pm that day.

Edit: Here's a link to the traffic when they switched: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14976381/Conroe PD Encryption.mp3

Ironically, the next morning, the City of Conroe City Council approved a city owned FM radio station on the justification they could broadcast emergency information.

The only police channel still clear appears to be the "CPD Multi" talkgroup, which is for communicating with fire/ems and other law enforcement agencies (but I don't think MoCo SO dispatch knows how to patch CPD Multi into their talkgroups... that's another story). I assume it will stay open since they won't want to share their keys with the FD, etc.

Also, notable, with so many police radios out there, global encryption as communications security is a myth. Just do a Google search for crimes committed by Conroe Police officers using their radios while off-duty.

For the time being, I will take all my commerce, outings, etc. to surrounding communities, as the MCSO dispatch channels are clear. It's unfortunate a key tool for situational awareness was eliminated by the city.

I forgot to mention: I've yet to hear any traffic on the TxWARN talkgroup for CPD. I think it might be a placeholder for future use.

Do you know if Conroe participates on any of the interop channel plans that are available in the area or are they truly special snowflakes in the regional communications system?


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The extent of their interoperability capability seems to be that the dispatch center has landline phones (well, likely VOIP) available for dispatchers to phone other dispatch centers.

They don't have streamlined interop with the Sheriff Department. It was painful listening awhile back when they were assisting with a multi-agency man hunt in the woods (they ended up giving up after several hours). Conroe PD couldn't communicate with any of the other agencies. If anything, CPD needs to open up their communication, not conceal it.

I don't hear them on any of the conventional or digital channels setup by the state for interop and tac.

They have a CPD "multi" talkgroup that is infrequently used (very rarely I hear a pd or fire unit corresponding on the talk group). I think it has a patch to a TxWARN talkgroup, which other dispatch centers can patch to their talk groups. But I haven't heard that used.

Their CAD does not share info with the other city/county agencies.

All of the other municipal LE agencies in the county are on TxWARN. The Conroe Fire Department is well integrated with the county fire and ems.

I'm not sure why CPD likes being on an island. Maybe they plan to annex the entire county.

Perhaps the encryption is because of all the meth and marijuana manufacturers/growers in the area. (Check previous news reports in the last couple of years in Montgomery and surrounding counties for examples.) Officer safety, I suppose. But, it limits other agencies, such as DPS, MCSO, MCCOs, etc., ability to monitor the PD for emergency situations. An "assist the officer" may go out, and the nearest officer has no idea what is happening and the closest CPD officer may be 4-5 minutes away.

I don't know why they don't do like many agencies (MCSO, for example) and dispatch in the clear, tac/investigations/supervisor, etc. encrypted. An easy answer to a simple question.

Oh, wait. Politics and egos are involved. Please disregard the above.
;^>

Well, at a minimum I hope they would key specifically authorized outside radios (or provide the key to specific agencies) like DPS, because you're right it's very limiting for legitimate police operations.

I was in a similar situation with my old department; the whole county (practically) was on the Bexar County system and we were still living on our own island. I pushed for the change constantly, and it only took about 5 years after I left for the change to take effect.


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I don't think CPD is too concerned about interop communications or they would have moved to TxWARNP25 like all the other agencies in the region have done. I still have no idea why they went to a completely new system following the MC Hospital District over to the MC P25 system. I think there are some politics and egos involved in this from what i understand.

I hear so many good examples of great cooperation between agencies when I listen to the various TxWARNP25 agencies. I hear DPS units talking on the MCSO TGs all the time when they are working in the area. I hear the Harris County SO and Constables working on each others TGs and TAC channels when they are cooperating on manhunts with perimeters and such. I have even heard HPD units do the same with Harris County in these situations. The DPS 102 chopper and HPD fox choppers all can switch over to the Agencies TGs on TxWARNP25 when they are assisting them. It just makes things so easy when you are on the same system.

Another advantage is the wide area coverage of this system. I have heard on a few occasions where CPD units were involved in pursuits that left the county and they ended up with no radio communication at all resorting to cell phones. They would have had coverage in these instances had they been on the TxWARNP25 system instead.

As far as the Encryption it really sucks not to be able to hear the dispatch traffic of the town you live in. I do not know why CPD feels the need to encrypt routine traffic such as the dispatch channels. I understand the need to encrypt TAC and SWAT type channels for sure. However, most agencies do not feel such a need for secrecy to encrypt all their traffic.

It is Ironic that I can hear DEA Surveillance in the clear on TxWARNP25 yet CPD feels the need to encrypt all their communications. What is wrong with this picture? LOL

Having lived in Conroe TX since the mid 1970's, this city and county are as corrupt as ever. I'm sure the name Clarence Brandley rings a bell. There have been times over the years listening to dispatch where situations have unfolded near me that I could safely react to. I also happen to know a couple of officers and Deputy Chief and there is no doubt ego and arrogance are at play.

If I recall correctly texas law requires any agency using securing to provide the keys or a radio to dps and the units assigned in the patrol cars in that region who are assigned in dps.

Encryption keys may be shared (with DPS) but its not a law.

If I find the Texas interop document released from dps I'll post it it's in pdf which cites it.

Today 4/22/2017 - Conroe PD is dispatch is broadcasting in the clear.

Anyone have any idea why? I am glad but it seems a little strange for them to come off the key.

Thanks