Longview PD and E

[Bandingabout]

Longview police say decision to encrypt radio channels ‘a matter of safety and security’

The Longview Police Department is making a change to protect their radio channels.

www.kltv.com

 

[Brandonmf89]

I really hope GCSO and KPD do not go down this route, but once one starts others soon follow.

 

[riflemin]

Well, I knew this was coming eventually but sad to hear. Longview PD has been using E on certain talk groups for years, most notably PD2 the Records inquiry TG. And I applauded them for that because it protected citizens data. However I have heard PD1 give details such as the names and addresses of minors who were allegedly being victimized, and that definitely needed to be encrypted.

A former LPD officer once told me that E was almost fully implemented when Longview first migrated to P25.

I will feel less safe when driving around town because I will no longer hear about any Pursuits in progress and they seem to be increasing and getting more dangerous.

I started listening to LPD in 1987 when I arrived to attend college here. When I worked on the Campus Security force we had an agreement with LPD to use PD2 for direct access with them (before cell phones, and it was VHF back then) It was a valuable tool on several occasions! LPD was quick to come when we needed them

 

[riflemin]

I really hope GCSO and KPD do not go down this route, but once one starts others soon follow.

Yep, I had the same thought. Years ago before GCSO migrated to TxWARN I asked Sheriff Cerliano if he had plans to implement E. He said "No". But that was then...

I always thought that records checks should done on a separate E channel or TG. Coincidentally just a couple days ago I heard a DPS trooper give the SS number of a subject and the return included enough info to possibly expose the subject to ID theft.
SMH.

 

[Brandonmf89]

Yep, I had the same thought. Years ago before GCSO migrated to TxWARN I asked Sheriff Cerliano if he had plans to implement E. He said "No". But that was then...

I always thought that records checks should done on a separate E channel or TG. Coincidentally just a couple days ago I heard a DPS trooper give the SS number of a subject and the return included enough info to possibly expose the subject to ID theft.
SMH.

I hope County never goes. It comes in handy with my line of work and I can get my employees prepared for any dispatches from the County to us before they ever call.

I don't know why these agencies won't just use their chats they have for this sensitive information like you were talking about with the SS number.

 

[riflemin]

I hope County never goes. It comes in handy with my line of work and I can get my employees prepared for any dispatches from the County to us before they ever call.

I don't know why these agencies won't just use their chats they have for this sensitive information like you were talking about with the SS number.

Yes, I worked as a Security officer off and on for years and knowing what was going on around my location Public Safety wise was invaluable. It was a two way street because on a couple occasions pursuits I was monitoring ended in crashes right at my location. Both became foot chases and my coworkers helped collar the suspects in one case.

Unfortunately, the news media covers a small fraction of what goes on in this area. Numerous wild, long chases or major vehicle crashes, some fatal don't get reported. And now the news media will not be able to hear what's going on using their scanners.

From what I hear on the scanner certain crimes are rising in Longview. The crazy stuff we see on the news from the big cities is becoming more common here. But you won't hear about on the news. You can look at statistics after the fact but that doesn't have the same impact as hearing it live over the air.

I hope County never goes. It comes in handy with my line of work and I can get my employees prepared for any dispatches from the County to us before they ever call.

I don't know why these agencies won't just use their chats they have for this sensitive information like you were talking about with the SS number.

Last night I learned that Longview Fire Department is going to encrypt, so I just visited LFD HQ and learned that the decision about what TGs will be E has not been finalized. I suggested dispatch in the clear without "sensitive" information and move the traffic to an E tg for further details. LFD generally assigns a fireground tg for all incidents to use.

I spoke to the KLTV reporter who conducted the interview that's posted above. I told him about this website. He was also frustrated by the fact that the news media is now locked out the same as the rest of us.

And he informed me that Gregg County Sheriff moved all traffic to their secure talk group sometime after 2pm today.

Longview PD apparently simply stopped using PD1 and moved dispatch to PD Secure1 TG 1999.

And so that leaves Gladewater, Kilgore, and White Oak available to monitor.

 

[WB5UOM]

‘To protect the community’: Gregg County Sheriff’s Office moves to encrypted radio

KLTV 7’s Jamey Boyum talks with Gregg County Chief Deputy Craig Harrington about why the county decided to encrypt their radio traffic just a few days after Longview Police secured their transmissions.

www.kltv.com

 

[riflemin]

‘To protect the community’: Gregg County Sheriff’s Office moves to encrypted radio

KLTV 7’s Jamey Boyum talks with Gregg County Chief Deputy Craig Harrington about why the county decided to encrypt their radio traffic just a few days after Longview Police secured their transmissions.

www.kltv.com

Thanks, I didn't know how to post that.

I've been monitoring GCSO since 1987 and there may be no way I can be tactful in my criticism of their lacking COMSEC. LPD has been better, with encrypted tgs and Mobile Computers for sensitive data, but even LPD comsec has slipped recently.

A GCSO dispatcher once refused to send a deputy to check a suspicious vehicle near my rural home because she heard their dispatch in the background on my 2m. (The sheriff later apologized for her decision.) Fortunately the suspect vehicle left due to my attention.

Since I don't participate in the "hell hole" of social media (and don't often even post here) I can't verify if Deputy Harrington's explanation is accurate. It sounds reasonable yet maybe overstated. After all, I was a kid long before scanners or social media and I remember seeing people flock to a fire in the neighborhood where I lived just to gawk. (And of course there have always been rubbernecks whenever there is a traffic wreck) Back then gawkers only had film cameras. Human nature hasn't changed but now they post the pics online without using "common sense". On The Other Hand around Longview the majority of incidents that I have heard never get reported by local media. I'm talking about major incidents and fatalities - even though a fender bender in Tyler will make the news. The reporter who did this interview explained why that happens. They do their best with what they have and today they lost a valuable tool when E was implemented. So it doesn't surprise me that citizens try to gather the news themselves but they don't play by the rules that professional reporters do. That's not likely to stop just because of E. I mean if people see that their neighbor got shot they may put his name on a post without even having access to a scanner, real or virtual, because afaik GCSO and LPD have not been steamed online.

It seems that since the E TGs have been programmed for months this was planned long ago and as far as I can tell the public was not allowed any input in the decision. I asked about this at Longview city hall and LFD HQ.

I really wonder (based on random posts in other states forums) if the federal grants for the new Mobile CP and Bearcat came with strings attached like, "encryption required"?

 

[mwjones]

I really wonder (based on random posts in other states forums) if the federal grants for the new Mobile CP and Bearcat came with strings attached like, "encryption required"?

Club Fed has their hand in this mess, but it's also local as well.

US Department of Justice and the FBI has put out a directive that all Criminal Justice "Personally Identifiable Information" (PII) related to inquiries (this could be request that personal information, such as home address, date of birth, warrants, etc. is being communicated) should be encrypted, no matter the medium that's being used.

The problem is, the legal advisors for many agencies are taking that to mean "everything" should be encrypted, even general dispatch, despite no PII typically being sent over the dispatch channels (at least in this area there's always an "inquiry" channel on the trunked systems, and of course DPS uses their cell phones a lot for conducting those inquires).

I drafted a bill for a "crowdsource" site for submitting proposals to the new administration, that would require an unencrypted dispatch channel, or an unencrypted stream to Broadcastify (or other streaming platform) with a maximum 5 minute delay - all in the name of transparency and access to law enforcement by "new media" (you'd be surprised that I get more incident reports from "scanner" groups on X and Facebook than I ever see in the legacy media) - let's just say most of the feedback from others was negative (for all the same reasons the doomsday people continually repeat).

 

[Brandonmf89]

And it looks like KPD has gone encrypted. They have been using 20084 which is their encrypted TG.

 

[riflemin]

And it looks like KPD has gone encrypted. They have been using 20084 which is their encrypted TG.

I noticed that a few days ago too. When they didn't immediately switch with GCSO I thought maybe they were keeping clear to allow Rusk County agencies to hear them. Part of the city of Kilgore is inside Rusk County.
Oh well, that leaves White Oak and Gladewater in the clear on VHF. (Of course in the last year they each initiated a few LONG wild chases which makes them worth listening to.)

 

[Brandonmf89]

I do find it odd they haven't put a press release out like GCSO and LPD did. I turned them on Tuesday night around 6. Heard a dispatch come through for a phone report. Everything was normal. Didn't hear anything else after that. Noticed a few hours later on 20084. Was thinking maybe they were having issues with their primary (about a year ago they had an issue and was using 20084 for a few days before switching back). Hoping that's just it again but I have a bad feeling it's not. Them not putting a press release is the only hope I'm holding onto.

Fire still seems to be unencrypted for now.

 

[Brandonmf89]

I didn't realize until recently that other departments can't monitor neighboring agencies once they go encrypted. I just assumed they would share with them.

In a large city like Austin that has officers all over this isn't a problem, but once you get to the smaller agencies like GCSO and KPD I could see issues. If an officer from either department ever has an issue on a traffic stop, ect. and the other agency has an officer nearby that could quickly assist if they hear the traffic come thru but now can't hear that traffic that could lead to serious issues.