New York State Scanner Permit

[c0untyb0y]

Your letter from the sheriff's dept would not hold up in court. Under NYS law, a sheriff's department is not a "police department" and therefore does not fall under the class of entities that may issue permits under S.397.

So I've been had by the county sheriff!? Both of them!? How dare they not know the law of the State of New York. Why on Earth would Sheriff Dustman have issued me a junk permit or Undersheriff Paravati wrote me a junk letter?! Those scoundrels. Call my lawyer on the phone and take these fools to court.

Sorry if the sarcasm ran a little deep there. Why the hell would a sheriff's office then issue these types of permits if the law doesn't allow it??? Is this a "buyer beware" kind of thing? I'll have to ask my friendly Traffic Trooper this question. Perhaps he can shed some light upon this interesting point you make Dave.

 

[GTR8000]

Your letter from the sheriff's dept would not hold up in court. Under NYS law, a sheriff's department is not a "police department" and therefore does not fall under the class of entities that may issue permits under S.397.

It's almost pointless arguing a poorly written law like 397, however it is worth noting that nowhere in the wording does it specifically say the issuing authority MUST be a police department. In fact, as the bolded text shows in the following excerpt of the law, the AHJ can authorize any person to issue said permits. Therefore, if the village or town board authorizes the county sheriff to handle such matters, then it would indeed be valid.

...without having first secured a permit to do so from the person authorized to issue such a permit by the local governing body or board of the city, town or village in which such person resides, or where such person resides outside of a city, or village in a county having a county police department by the board of supervisors of such county...

 

[hvscan]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9530/5.0.0.328 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Much of this really comes down to intent. If a person with a scanner starts showing up at crime scenes, car stops, etc, then they are asking for trouble. If they show up at a fire and stand out of the way to watch, no one is going to notice them. The bottom line is to be smart in what you do with your scanner and never bring attention to yourself by interfering or being in places you do not belong.

 

[auxscan]

I know a guy who showed his GMRS license to a cop and got away with it becaues he was using a vertex radio on the 462/467MHz frequencies and NYC public safety are the 470/480MHz and the radio fell in the 450-490 band split. I know many people who use radios in the 450/460mhz and can RX public safety so does that mean there guilty of the scanner law?

Im just saying if your bussiness(450/460MHz) or hobby (ham/GMRS) falls within the the same public safety band are you in fact guilty of the VTL397 law?

 

[kontos]

An even funnier question to ask: Since there are now smart phone apps that allow you to listen to audio streams from this site, do you technically need such a permit to use your iPhone/Blackberry in your car?

 

[Spec]

Here we go again...poor dead horse. Mod is it possible to take a look at this .

 

[bezking]

Enough.
Do not re-open locked topics.
Search before posting.

Thanks!