Are scanner feeds bringing the hobby of law enforcement monitoring to an end?
After our local PD recently started encrypting hot traffic, I sent a letter to the department asking why, and offering what I saw as the benefits of citizen scanner use.
The Phoenix PD public information officer politely responded. He was very clear that they had simply had too many instances of listeners putting officers, citizens, and even suspects at risk, as well as jeopardizing investigations and prosecutions. He made a strong case for increased encryption, and I will take him at his word.
There are links on these forums showing that many departments have recently started to move to encryption due to these same issues becoming more common.
So I want to share my theory and ask for thoughts. I believe that this problem was probably not nearly as bad when "listeners" were scanner users who had for the most part read through a copy of Police Call or similar books, and who understood that using scanner information to interfere is not just bad for the hobby, but ILLEGAL. I believe that most listeners with scanners had far more respect for the law, and for the hobby that they had invested money into, and for the public safety value of citizens using scanners responsibly. They were good stewards for the most part.
Now, in the last several years, with "smart phones" making it possible for anyone and everyone to monitor police traffic (including bad guys and people ignorant of the law), the problem has become unbearable for police, and they are responding, which is understandable.
So, even though the people providing these feeds are mostly great people sharing a great hobby, are they in a round-about way bringing a rapid end to the hobby they are trying to share? It would seem that these feeds are allowing every dimwit (and worse) with a smartphone, who has no knowledge of / respect for the law, to ruin it for the true hobbyists. Am I wrong?
After our local PD recently started encrypting hot traffic, I sent a letter to the department asking why, and offering what I saw as the benefits of citizen scanner use.
The Phoenix PD public information officer politely responded. He was very clear that they had simply had too many instances of listeners putting officers, citizens, and even suspects at risk, as well as jeopardizing investigations and prosecutions. He made a strong case for increased encryption, and I will take him at his word.
There are links on these forums showing that many departments have recently started to move to encryption due to these same issues becoming more common.
So I want to share my theory and ask for thoughts. I believe that this problem was probably not nearly as bad when "listeners" were scanner users who had for the most part read through a copy of Police Call or similar books, and who understood that using scanner information to interfere is not just bad for the hobby, but ILLEGAL. I believe that most listeners with scanners had far more respect for the law, and for the hobby that they had invested money into, and for the public safety value of citizens using scanners responsibly. They were good stewards for the most part.
Now, in the last several years, with "smart phones" making it possible for anyone and everyone to monitor police traffic (including bad guys and people ignorant of the law), the problem has become unbearable for police, and they are responding, which is understandable.
So, even though the people providing these feeds are mostly great people sharing a great hobby, are they in a round-about way bringing a rapid end to the hobby they are trying to share? It would seem that these feeds are allowing every dimwit (and worse) with a smartphone, who has no knowledge of / respect for the law, to ruin it for the true hobbyists. Am I wrong?