Newspaper Story: Police scanners provide fewer details to public amid safety concerns

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Police scanners provide fewer details to public amid safety concerns

Police scanners provide fewer details to public amid safety concerns

The Palm Beach Post (Florida)

Many agencies encrypt their communications, making it difficult to monitor activity near crime scenes even for the smartest scanner enthusiasts.
Stephen Wolf recalled scanning for fire and police radio frequencies as a kid in New York City, using a rotary tuner on a 7-inch black-and-white television. Charles Benn began listening to shortwave radio as a teenager, acquiring a ham-radio operator’s license at the age of 14.

Today, the Palm Beach County residents are among hundreds of dedicated scanner-radio enthusiasts in South Florida who monitor and share information from police and fire dispatches. But recent changes in radio technology — and choices made by law-enforcement agencies — have made it more challenging for them to pursue their passion.

“I have something going in the house all the time,” said Benn, 67, of Loxahatchee. “Most of the serious scanner enthusiasts, they’re not busy bodies. ... They’re paying attention to their surroundings. Knowing what’s going on in your surroundings has benefits.”

Wolf, 75, of West Palm Beach, is a member of a Southeast Florida scanner group that shares information gleaned from police and fire dispatches.
“It’s interesting to hear what’s going on,” he said.

But following a national trend, local law-enforcement agencies — including the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, by far the county’s largest policing agency — have begun encrypting their radio communications, preventing the public from listening to them. Last summer, as part of upgrades to its Motorola radio system, the sheriff’s office began encrypting all of its communications.
Other police departments, including those in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens, have gone in recent years to Harris Corp.’s OpenSky system, which cannot be monitored by the public.

Many agencies have expressed concerns about officer safety and the potential for police operations to be compromised from having those under surveillance be able to monitor police actions, either through traditional radio scanner technology or through a growing number of smartphone applications.
 
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