I haven't been to Austin as of late. I would like to hear from those who live in the Austin area. At present, I am not seeing widespread encryption as reported. I do see the "DE" and "D" for dispatch talk groups.
However, I would like to know if other Austin PD talk groups are still in the clear. I am assuming the RR DB for this area is up to date.
Bell County is in the process of encrypting LE channels. At present, there are two new dispatch talk groups on Bell County P25, Temple & Killeen Dispatch. Several other talk groups show to be "T." Since not everyone can afford a phase II scanner, the number of listeners would likely go down.
I have said this before, but here I go again.
Generally speaking, when asked about why encryption is needed, LE tends to mention unwanted monitoring of online police scanners. They tend to talk about officer safety and/or compromised operations as a function of people listening to online scanners. I know of only one incident when somone was using a ditigal scanner in Montgomery County to break the law. But, most of what I've heard has been online sources.
The media certainly gets it wrong. During the Boston Marathon bombing, one of the ABC news anchors said they were hearing traffic on a "police scanner." I believe they also cited the source of the feed. I wrote and corrected them about this. From what I understand, mutual aid channels were also being used.
From what I understand, it is improper to have a LE tactical channel on Broadcastify. I am not sure about other online scanners.
So, my hope is that they leave the tactical channels alone so that those with pricey scanners can monitor what the general public cannot hear on an online scanner feed(s).
However, I would like to know if other Austin PD talk groups are still in the clear. I am assuming the RR DB for this area is up to date.
Bell County is in the process of encrypting LE channels. At present, there are two new dispatch talk groups on Bell County P25, Temple & Killeen Dispatch. Several other talk groups show to be "T." Since not everyone can afford a phase II scanner, the number of listeners would likely go down.
I have said this before, but here I go again.
Generally speaking, when asked about why encryption is needed, LE tends to mention unwanted monitoring of online police scanners. They tend to talk about officer safety and/or compromised operations as a function of people listening to online scanners. I know of only one incident when somone was using a ditigal scanner in Montgomery County to break the law. But, most of what I've heard has been online sources.
The media certainly gets it wrong. During the Boston Marathon bombing, one of the ABC news anchors said they were hearing traffic on a "police scanner." I believe they also cited the source of the feed. I wrote and corrected them about this. From what I understand, mutual aid channels were also being used.
From what I understand, it is improper to have a LE tactical channel on Broadcastify. I am not sure about other online scanners.
So, my hope is that they leave the tactical channels alone so that those with pricey scanners can monitor what the general public cannot hear on an online scanner feed(s).
