Horry county police possibly going dark

[LeSueurC]

This is about telling the people what they want them to know, when they want them to know it. The notion that a public information officer becomes the source of news is the ultimate threat to democracy. These are the same folks who withhold police camera videos or delay until they can "secure" sources not aligned with their purpose.

Any professional department handles sensitive information over portable terminals or cell phones. Or, in the better agencies, over secure channels. No one objects to secure communication for investigations and special operations. Routine patrol channels should be proudly open to the taxpayers.

This flies in the face of law enforcement efforts to build public trust and confidence. Transparency? Their idea of transparency is running the police department like it's their private security company. Open up your routine patrol channels, Myrtle Beach, and begin building back the trust you are destroying. And don't think you can restore this with your community outreach programs.

If they’re having an issue with crime, you can guarantee they’re going to stay encrypted. Look at Chicago PD, Baltimore PD, Washington DC, Richmond VA PD, Portsmouth VA PD, Virginia Beach VA PD, they’re all encrypted and no signs of them going clear. It’s a fight you win

 

[INDY72]

That's pretty much all of the sc coast gone dark now.

 

[Wnqk784]

Yep to sum it up but hopefully horry county PD won't go dark on their dispatch channels

 

[JohnSC]

If they’re having an issue with crime, you can guarantee they’re going to stay encrypted. Look at Chicago PD, Baltimore PD, Washington DC, Richmond VA PD, Portsmouth VA PD, Virginia Beach VA PD, they’re all encrypted and no signs of them going clear. It’s a fight you win

And it solved all their problems, eh? It's simply an excuse to drive the taxpayer out of their operation. Easier to control public perception that all is well and we'll tell you if it isn't. And elected officials just roll over.

 

[Wnqk784]

Yep make you wonder why there's a need for a narcotic channel a ops channel a talk around and so on those are the channels that I don't have a problem with being encrypted the dispatch channels should be clear

 

[LeSueurC]

And it solved all their problems, eh? It's simply an excuse to drive the taxpayer out of their operation. Easier to control public perception that all is well and we'll tell you if it isn't. And elected officials just roll over.

It’s their approach. But the average citizen isn’t going to win that fight. From what I understand it’s a federally mandated thing that if they’re running personal information across the air, they’re supposed to encrypt

 

[Wnqk784]

Not too sure about it being mandated but like I have said that's why they have alternate channels inv channels cid channels and so on for sensitive info like that Berkeley county has a investigations channel just for that and it's fully encrypted and their dispatch is in the clear

 

[JohnSC]

It’s their approach. But the average citizen isn’t going to win that fight. From what I understand it’s a federally mandated thing that if they’re running personal information across the air, they’re supposed to encrypt

There is no federal mandate. If you have documentation, you should post it.

 

[Wnqk784]

I didn't think there was it just a choice that they make

 

[Wnqk784]

My county also has an encrypted channel for info like that but they seldom use it

 

[INDY72]

Per US DOJ any PII over the air by any LEA must be encrypted. So yes, there is an mandate. Its been stated as the force behind full encryption for at least one county here in IN, and is why several other States are now rolling the big E out. Personally Identifiable Information, or PII such as SSN, etc. The only place I know of that still is even using this over the air is Mississippi, though. Most Information Databases in use by LEA's no longer allow the SSN to be used as identification information. Though any lawyer could quickly argue that DL/OL/ID being read over the air is PII. (Though the main reason behind the security of PII is identity theft and to "protect suspects privacy") There are some places that solve this issue by simply taking all that information to secure TG/Ch, or using MDT/Laptops/Cell Phones, and thus no need to go E on dispatch. Then again, just stating an subject/suspect name over the air is assuredly PII. But such is life now.

 

[JohnSC]

Per US DOJ any PII over the air by any LEA must be encrypted. So yes, there is an mandate. Its been stated as the force behind full encryption for at least one county here in IN, and is why several other States are now rolling the big E out. Personally Identifiable Information, or PII such as SSN, etc. The only place I know of that still is even using this over the air is Mississippi, though. Most Information Databases in use by LEA's no longer allow the SSN to be used as identification information. Though any lawyer could quickly argue that DL/OL/ID being read over the air is PII. (Though the main reason behind the security of PII is identity theft and to "protect suspects privacy") There are some places that solve this issue by simply taking all that information to secure TG/Ch, or using MDT/Laptops/Cell Phones, and thus no need to go E on dispatch. Then again, just stating an subject/suspect name over the air is assuredly PII. But such is life now.

Still seeking documentation for this. Recommendations, guidelines and "best practices" are not regulations. If so, there would be countless agencies nationwide that would be in violation. There should be a citation in the Federal Register and that's what I would like to find.

 

[leonzo]

Still seeking documentation for this. Recommendations, guidelines and "best practices" are not regulations. If so, there would be countless agencies nationwide that would be in violation. There should be a citation in the Federal Register and that's what I would like to find.

 

[leonzo]

I will keep debunking this FALSE statement. THERE IS NO FEDERAL MANDATE FOR ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES TO GO ENCRYPTED! What a lot of departments have done is point to a DOJ mandate that has been in effect for many years that states you cannot broadcast criminal history information over the radio. So, if an officer or deputy were to ask for the criminal history of a person on the radio, he/she will have to call on the phone or use an encrypted radio to learn that arrest record.

Arrest records are not the same as dmv information, warrant wants or anything else except criminal arrests records. So armed with this information the next time you read or hear that a department is encrypting because of a DOJ mandate remember that this is totally false!

As has been reported repeatedly if what they were saying was in fact true, then every agency in America would have to be encrypted. Sorry Internet conspiracy theorists people THAT IS NOT TRUE!!!

I am a retired senior law enforcement officer; I know of what I type!

 

[kittrav]

I will keep debunking this FALSE statement. THERE IS NO FEDERAL MANDATE FOR ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES TO GO ENCRYPTED! What a lot of departments have done is point to a DOJ mandate that has been in effect for many years that states you cannot broadcast criminal history information over the radio. So, if an officer or deputy were to ask for the criminal history of a person on the radio, he/she will have to call on the phone or use an encrypted radio to learn that arrest record.

Arrest records are not the same as dmv information, warrant wants or anything else except criminal arrests records. So armed with this information the next time you read or hear that a department is encrypting because of a DOJ mandate remember that this is totally false!

As has been reported repeatedly if what they were saying was in fact true, then every agency in America would have to be encrypted. Sorry Internet conspiracy theorists people THAT IS NOT TRUE!!!

I am a retired senior law enforcement officer; I know of what I type!

I have already made one Freedom of Information Act request to Myrtle Beach concerning the who, when and why their police went totally encrypted.

I am going to submit a second FOIA request re this supposed "requirement."

I also sent a FOIA request to Horry County, whose trunked radio system the MB PD uses.

If there was such a federal requirement, then the seven other municipalities in this County -- Atlantic Beach, Aynor, Briarcliffe Acres, Conway, Loris, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach -- as well as the County Sheriff, County Police -- Horry is the only one of the 46 counties in SC that has a countywide PD -- and Coastal Carolina University DPS would all be in violation of the "requirement."

 

[Wnqk784]

I agree with leonzo and also I spoke with someone that works with my counties radio system and there is no such thing at all

 

[Wnqk784]

I have never heard anyone ask for a whole criminal history on someone over the radio there's a phone for that and with some of the history it would be too lengthy to be over the air anyway

 

[JohnSC]

What is troublesome is that the Myrtle Beach Police Department misled TV news viewers. Yet they want the taxpaying public to trust the same public agency to tell them when and if there is news. Freedom of the Press is DOA in Myrtle Beach.

 

[brian]

The fact is there is little a hobbyist, or a citizen taxpayer, can do to stop the implementation of encryption or reverse the decision once it is implemented. As there isn't a mandate or requirement to encrypt, there is also no requirement or mandate to be in the clear. It's a decision left up to the leadership of the agency.

The most obvious recourse is to vote against incumbent elected officials that do not support transparency and accountability in government. That could be a county sheriff or a city councilperson. Unfortunately, there aren't normally other candidates running who do support transparency and accountability.

Most citizen taxpayers don't care about this issue. Gathering grass roots support for candidates that do support transparency requires a lot of time and energy that most of us don't have.

 

[Wnqk784]

Well I do have a bit of possibly hopeful news I just happened to run into someone I know that works with horry and was told that as far as they know they were going to remain transparent as far as the radios go and hopefully keep the dispatch channels in the clear for the foreseeable future so hopefully that holds up