Anyone know why Scottsdale PD is operating on PD3 and PD4?

[PorscheEMB]

Anyone know why Scottsdale PD is operating on PD3 and PD4? Are they up to something like encrypting PD 1 and PD2?

 

[GlobalNorth]

SPD loves to host their special event traffic on channels 1 & 2. Dispatch and patrol traffic gets rerouted to other channels.

My hypothesis? The brass and detectives who rarely use radios can't usually be trusted to switch to alternate channels and sometimes start yelling at dispatch when they are called out that special event traffic is on other channels. This is why everyone at MCSO had to start using the NATO phonetic alphabet. The then-new sheriff got on the radio and was laughed at by dispatch. In typical elected official fashion, he forced everyone else to switch from a decades long system that was long used to something that only he was using.

A chief I worked for did something similar on the radio and after minutes of comm specs trying to figure out what he wanted, I blurted out on simplex that "This ain't Californny...".

 

[scannerhead]

Anyone know why Scottsdale PD is operating on PD3 and PD4? Are they up to something like encrypting PD 1 and PD2?

Your question of encryption is apparently correct. I have confirmed only encrypted traffic on Scottsdale PD 1 South (RWC Simulast H TG 3401). So I expect, on whatever date and time, they will switch back to PD 1 and PD 2 and the Scottsdale Police Dispatch talkgroups will be encrypted.

Unfortunately we're getting used to this in the Phoenix area. The question is, which agency will be next?

 

[PorscheEMB]

Your question of encryption is apparently correct. I have confirmed only encrypted traffic on Scottsdale PD 1 South (RWC Simulast H TG 3401). So I expect, on whatever date and time, they will switch back to PD 1 and PD 2 and the Scottsdale Police Dispatch talkgroups will be encrypted.

Unfortunately we're getting used to this in the Phoenix area. The question is, which agency will be next?

UGH! This is terrible news!

 

[scannerhead]

⚠️ Scottsdale Police Dispatch channels are now encrypted.

Sometime today, Jan 12 2024, Scottsdale Police moved South and North Dispatch back to their normal talkgroups 3401 and 3402 which have been fully encrypted.

 

[PorscheEMB]

I noticed this as well! Wow! I have been listening to them for 30 years!

 

[PorscheEMB]

⚠️ Scottsdale Police Dispatch channels are now encrypted.

Sometime today, Jan 12 2024, Scottsdale Police moved South and North Dispatch back to their normal talkgroups 3401 and 3402 which have been fully encrypted.

I noticed this as well! Wow! I have been listening to them for 30 years!

 

[n0doz]

I know that no one wants to see this happen, but the cop's job has never been more dangerous than it is now. 350 cops shot last year. Not all killed and not all here in AZ, but we're right where the border mess is the worst. Any advantage the cops can claim is something they'll do, and encrypting radios gives them another tactical advantage. Believe me, 35 years as a cop and I never saw things as bad for the police as it is now. It's a raw deal for us as listeners, but unfortunately we're the lowest consideration and that's if we're a consideration at all.

 

[Foresigt]

The only consideration that scanner users get it that they stream public safety frequencies so anyone with a scanner app can hear what the PD is doing and show up to interfere. It's easy when you don't have to invest $700 to listen. We are our own worst enemies.

 

[GlobalNorth]

I was a AZ cop and a Fed for over two decades. Encryption does not promote officer safety or save the lives of police. It is a very casual corollary argument that it does.

Taken from the NLEOMF website:
"Firearms-related fatalities have claimed the lives of 47 officers in 2023, which represents a 25% decrease from the 63 officers killed by gunfire in 2022, yet was the leading cause of death.

Of the 47 firearms fatalities:

"9 were attempting to make an arrest
7 were handling domestic disturbance calls
6 were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances
5 were ambushed
5 were responding to robbery/burglary in-progress calls
5 were killed during traffic enforcement
2 were killed serving warrants
2 were investigating disturbance calls
2 were killed during tactical encounters
2 were killed in other circumstances
1 was a training accident
1 off duty officer intervened in a crime in progress."

Traffic fatalities:
Of the 37 traffic-related deaths:

"23 were automobile crashes
4 were motorcycle crashes
10 were struck-by fatalities"

Other MoD:
Of the 52 ‘Other Causes’ deaths in 2023:

"35 were fatal medical events
5 were related to Covid-19
3 officers fell to their death
2 were due to aircraft crashes
1 was due to a falling object
1 officer died assisting in a fire incident
1 officer drowned
1 officer was beaten to death
1 officer was stabbed to death
1 officer was struck by a train
1 officer was strangled to death."

Arizona is not a particularly deadly State for LE:
"New York experienced the largest number of law enforcement fatalities of all U.S. states in 2023, with 13 line-of-duty deaths.
Texas has the second highest number with 11 officer deaths
Louisiana had the third highest number with 8 officer deaths
California had the fourth highest number with 7 officer deaths
Indiana, and Tennessee had the fifth highest number with 6 officer deaths each
In addition, 7 federal officers, 3 officers serving US Territories, 1 military officer, and 1 tribal officer died in 2023. 10 states did not lose an officer in 2023."

2023 Law Enforcement Fatalities Report Reveals Law Enforcement Deaths Dropped - National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

The number of law enforcement professionals nationwide who died in the line of duty in 2023 decreased 39% compared to the previous year, according to preliminary data provided by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), the leading authority on officer fatalities.

nleomf.org

Scottsdale and other agencies nationwide are using encryption overall to hide from public scrutiny. Plain and simple. The less you know, the fewer questions that will be asked - both the media and the public at large of the police and their officials.