Legislation: Encrypted radios for News Media

[PaulNDaOC]

I used my NPPA member ID card during the "Holy Fire" incident to get past law enforcement blockades. I was even stopped by Forestry Service several times, they checked my NPPA card then told me to be careful and drove off.

I should have prefaced this 'all the time'.

I have seen plenty of instances where access is selective. Having an LAPD or LASD Media credential helps.

With 50,000 followers I would consider you online mainstream, with broad interest from the community as long as the content is there. Some of the daily papers around the region do not have this many subscribers. If this comes to pass I would expect the bill to have a method of separating the real deal online media such as yourself, from the pretenders.

 

[allend]

Understand and agree with what you're saying. Lots of ways that LE could counter a bill passed forcing them to give anyone with $120 access to their 250 million dollars secured system. Currently, our local Sheriffs (Riverside County Sheriffs) accepts the NPPA card as Press Credentials and will provide (for a fee) a "receive only" radio with access to their primary dispatch only channels which leaves many other talkgroups for LE to use without the media having access to. But yeah I could see a department that isn't happy with having their hand forced to "forget" the OTAR...etc.

Definitely interesting to see what happens to this bill... Might be a long time before we know.

I am pretty sure Riverside County is not handing out any radios anymore freely even though you can show a press pass. I know The ERICA system in Riverside County yanked all media radios and re-structured their policy re-guarding media access to their radio system.

 

[zerg901]

California Court: Old Police Misconduct Records Are Public

California Court: Old Police Misconduct Records Are Public

just for background

 

[951ryan]

I am pretty sure Riverside County is not handing out any radios anymore freely even though you can show a press pass. I know The ERICA system in Riverside County yanked all media radios and re-structured their policy re-guarding media access to their radio system.

RSO is still issuing Receive-Only radios to members of the press but the latest I heard is that the process is slow about 4-6 months from initial email until receiving the radio. ERICA system is an absolute no right now, but PSEC is another story.

 

[hardsuit]

this Should NOT Matter as Reporters also use Smartphones and they are Digital and Some use Spread Spectrum technology, the NEWS Agency is NOT a Public Entity , its a Private Public Traded Business, and the NEWS is their PRIVATE Busniness.
they can Purchase a Digital Trunking system and ENCRYPT if they want to.

 

[Eng74]

this Should NOT Matter as Reporters also use Smartphones and they are Digital and Some use Spread Spectrum technology, the NEWS Agency is NOT a Public Entity , its a Private Public Traded Business, and the NEWS is their PRIVATE Busniness.
they can Purchase a Digital Trunking system and ENCRYPT if they want to.

I think you might be a little off on this. They are not providing the media a encrypted radio system. They are providing them a radio so they can monitor the encrypted agency.

 

[Markinsac]

The way it is currently written, there is no exemption for communications that might be used for surveillance, gangs, probation sweeps, and SWAT.

Also, the way some agencies worked in the past, the agency supplied listen-only versions of some radios that had limited frequencies or groups loaded.

 

[WX4JCW]

Passing a 35 question multiple choice test with ≥70% score shouldn't allow any special access. If amateur radio operators want to participate in an emergency, they need to work within the incident command structure.


As for the rest of the proposed bill, It will be interesting to see where it goes. Some agencies have allowed media access, some have not. How agencies react to being forced to give access may or may not go over well.

There's more financial challenges to this than just recovering the cost of the radios. Periodic rekeying will either require hands on the radio, or someone making sure the radio gets OTAR'd.

And then there's nothing to stop an agency from rekeying radios and "forgetting" to update the media's radio. Or from setting up talk groups that are on the system but not in the media radio. Or any number of approaches that will keep this from working.

of course include fines for noncompliance in the bill, always a way to deal with agencies playing games