Fire Department/EMS is what I rely on in encrypted counties in North Carolina (that and State Highway Patrol as any large incident of interest they show up and I can get info for now unless NC Highway Patrol goes ENC during the phase 2 upgrades a few years from now. I'm learning now with more police cellphone/ipad usage.. only the critical stuff is going out over the air.. While nice to listen to the police.. its nothing like when I started listening in 1994. I am happy I was around for that era.