Ark Citizens Suing Over Radio Encryption

Status
Not open for further replies.

btritch

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
1,941
Location
Paragould/Greene County AR
They've lost before the even get started, Trust me, If I thought this would even remotely work I'd done it last year already, It drives me nuts not hearing the city here but there's nothing I can do about it, If I thought suing them would do any good I'd done it a long dang time ago.. Sorry Guys, But you don't have a chance, All they're going to do is drain you dry then spit you back out..
 

SlipNutz15

Wacker
Feed Provider
Joined
Aug 6, 2005
Messages
633
Location
Central PA
So from what I'm reading from previous posts is a few of you, scanner listeners, want the ability to listen to ALL police communications foregoing the safety of officers for your own entertainment? What happened to the police needing the upper hand against the people they're trying to find or being able to plan out their response without the bad guy knowing their next move?

I know it's a double edged sword because there are times when the public can listen to police communications and aid them in finding a suspect or lost child or what have you but todays criminals are becoming smarter and smarter and them having access to an encrypted radio frequencies/system because a few scanner listeners got their panties in a bunch blows my mind. This, scanner listening, is a hobby. Why put officer safety on the line for a hobby?
 

radioman2001

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
2,974
Location
New York North Carolina and all points in between
You go to be kidding me, you advertise CentralPAScanner.com | Welcome in your response, so obviously you are providing either a feed or are a scanner fan yourself. Look towards the largest police departments in the country, New York City,and LA to mention a few, and they don't have encryption except for tactical channels.
This is another attempt at a catch all solution like gun control for a small problem, anybody with common sense knows or should know what to say over a radio in a hot situation. That's call comm security, but this agency would rather lock out the seeing eyes and ears of the public because of what. The Chief and the lawyers can't trust their officers to know better when they push the PTT button. Give me a break this sounds more like preventative coverup to me.
I worked in NYC on a 911 ambulance for 10 years and I can assure you that neither myself nor NYPD were ever in danger as a result of scanners or scanner apps. We knew what to say and when to say it, and yes their were numerous situations where the wrong thing said if monitored could have resulted in a different outcome.
 

SlipNutz15

Wacker
Feed Provider
Joined
Aug 6, 2005
Messages
633
Location
Central PA
I am providing a feed but obviously nothing encrypted and would not go out of my way to complain about an encrypted frequency just so I could get the satisfaction of listening.
 

SlipNutz15

Wacker
Feed Provider
Joined
Aug 6, 2005
Messages
633
Location
Central PA
Yes. That's what would happen but I don't see that happening anytime soon. And sure, I'd be sad to hear the scanner traffic go away but that's life. I'm sure as hell not going to go sue crazy like these guys did just so they could hear something. That's just dumb.
 

03msc

RF is RF
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
3,942
Location
The Natural State
So from what I'm reading from previous posts is a few of you, scanner listeners, want the ability to listen to ALL police communications foregoing the safety of officers for your own entertainment? What happened to the police needing the upper hand against the people they're trying to find or being able to plan out their response without the bad guy knowing their next move?

I know it's a double edged sword because there are times when the public can listen to police communications and aid them in finding a suspect or lost child or what have you but todays criminals are becoming smarter and smarter and them having access to an encrypted radio frequencies/system because a few scanner listeners got their panties in a bunch blows my mind. This, scanner listening, is a hobby. Why put officer safety on the line for a hobby?

False. Most want main dispatch channel(s) in the clear and have said that tac channels could/should remain encrypted. That's how it should work on all systems.

The rest of your post will be ignored.
 

szron

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
404
Location
Livonia, MI
I applaud the effort but I don't see this going anywhere, especially under the FOIA. FOIA allows the agencies that hold records (recorded traffic) to redact the information and allows for waiting periods. That actually means that even if your agency is full encrypted you can FOIA the tapes, but you will have you wait and they might redact some information. And they will charge you a hefty fee that makes it impractical for Joe Citizen to access those records on regular basis, especially with an adverse agency (being enc is one of the things I would consider as adverse behaviour towards the public).

They only way I could see this working is going after the 'unwritten' or 'customary' rule that police traffic has been implicitly and explicitly allowed to be monitored by Joe Citizen and the news media for years. There are departments that share their feed online or that encourage citizens to listen but I don't see that being a strong legal argument.
 

CapStar362

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Messages
613
Location
GA, USA!
i think the real issue here is, the public has a right being PD is PUBLIC SERVANT by tax payers, to listen to "general dispatch and non-tactical or "private" channels. i whole agree with sensitive channels. like SWAT, Narcotics/Gang and anything that is person 2 person in form of personal "talk-about"

we as citizens have the right to know about what is going on around our local areas and if so be it, anywhere else.

the statement about "PD Safety" what about it? when you stream radio's which 90% of criminals use, there is a HUGE margin of tactical advantage. that advantage...... delay. it takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 90 seconds to get a cell phone to get radio calls.... that's a HUGE disadvantage when trying to out maneuver someone with NO DELAY.
 

pepsima1

Completely Banned for the Greater Good
Banned
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
1,078
Location
Pimp County, Neveda
So from what I'm reading from previous posts is a few of you, scanner listeners, want the ability to listen to ALL police communications foregoing the safety of officers for your own entertainment? What happened to the police needing the upper hand against the people they're trying to find or being able to plan out their response without the bad guy knowing their next move?

I know it's a double edged sword because there are times when the public can listen to police communications and aid them in finding a suspect or lost child or what have you but todays criminals are becoming smarter and smarter and them having access to an encrypted radio frequencies/system because a few scanner listeners got their panties in a bunch blows my mind. This, scanner listening, is a hobby. Why put officer safety on the line for a hobby?

This guy is a joker. Posting stuff about putting officer safety at risk and then streams police audio.

Dude get off of this site. Cancel his account. Posting crap and punching all of us in the face.
 

03msc

RF is RF
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
3,942
Location
The Natural State
i think the real issue here is, the public has a right being PD is PUBLIC SERVANT by tax payers, to listen to "general dispatch and non-tactical or "private" channels. i whole agree with sensitive channels. like SWAT, Narcotics/Gang and anything that is person 2 person in form of personal "talk-about"

we as citizens have the right to know about what is going on around our local areas and if so be it, anywhere else.

the statement about "PD Safety" what about it? when you stream radio's which 90% of criminals use, there is a HUGE margin of tactical advantage. that advantage...... delay. it takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 90 seconds to get a cell phone to get radio calls.... that's a HUGE disadvantage when trying to out maneuver someone with NO DELAY.

Exactly. That excuse they use falls flat in all reality.
 

Hooligan

Member
Joined
May 15, 2002
Messages
1,307
Location
Clark County, Nevada
I'm a taxpayer too, so I'm going to go to nearby Nellis AFB & demand my right to fly an F-35!

For those of you who say that only the "Tac" & SWAT channels should be encrypted, what about fairly routine dispatches about silent holdup alarms, suspicious vehicles, etc? Oh yeah, many of you (whose grammar often suggests a lack of a high school diploma) make the argument that all crooks are too dumb to use scanners, as if everyone here on RR has an IQ above 90.

Public safety, just like most commercial businesses, have the right to protect what *they* (not us fat, greasy scanner geeks) decide is sensitive information. That includes operational information as well as the privacy of complainants, witnesses, victims, & even suspects at times. There are plenty of federal, state & local LE personnel who out of stress in the heat of a situation or plain ignorance/stupidity, say sensitive things on non-secure channels. I've pretty much given-up trying to educate them about OPSEC/COMSEC, and instead, tend to push towards encryption to give a level of protection to their operations. Over the years, I've both helped the police via my scanner, and also helped myself (hearing where a speed-trap was, for example). But if they want to encrypt everything, that's their right to do so, no matter how many of us whine & protest about our 'civil rights' and 'duty to oversee' being violated -- the reality is that it's just a huge, longtime hobby for most of us & some people have great difficulty adjusting (read: "finding a real life") to no longer sitting on their fat *** with a bag of Doritos, 2 liter bottle of Coke & snooping on their local public safety from their bedroom in the basement of their elderly mother's house.

When I made a recent move, I intentionally moved to a city whose public safety channels were not encrypted, so that I can monitor them out of personal interest/hobby. I get it -- I know it's fun & interesting to listen-in, & that sometimes I can use that ability to benefit the PD, or keep myself away from a speeding ticket, highway congestion, etc. If/when my local public safety decides to encrypt some or all of their channels then sure, it sucks for me, but it's overall a good thing for their effectiveness.

So I too am a scanner geek, but very glad to not be one of the fools that thinks I have some sort of Constitutional right to listen-in on public safety operational communications, that such a right takes precedence over officer-security & effectiveness, that I'm far superior to the common-man & thus common criminals don't know about scanners (& those that use the smartphone apps are too slow to evade LE *if* there's a delay between the on-air transmission & smartphone app broadcast) and that LE always has the intelligence & time to be careful what they say over the radio.
 

03msc

RF is RF
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
3,942
Location
The Natural State
I don't appreciate your implication that anyone who has posted in this thread lacks intelligence, has no life, is fat, and lives in the basement of their mother's house.
 

pepsima1

Completely Banned for the Greater Good
Banned
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
1,078
Location
Pimp County, Neveda
It would be nice if everyone could live in their mothers downstairs basement. Save a bunch a money and buy more radios. Then everybody could chip in and pay the Israeli Government to help us with this Encryption stuff so we can get it all ironed out.
 

SCPD

QRT
Joined
Feb 24, 2001
Messages
0
Location
Virginia
I can remember when local law enforcement wanted community involvement and support. I guess it's time to get the doritos, a cold beer, head down to the cellar and tell them I can't help, I'm encrypted.
 

jdanon

Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Messages
49
Hey I like Doritos! And, my mom just yelled "shadddup!" down the basement stairs at my radios!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top