Permits

[newsfotos]

I am a scanning afficianado of many years and I am relocating to Utica, NY.

It is my understanding that there is a permit process for having a mobile scannerin NY state. I have read the state law. I work in the media and I can usually quality for a permit.

Can anyone direct me to the correct agency for Oneida and Herkimer Counties? Or is there one state police permit I can get?

Many thanks.

 

[DaveNF2G]

You need a permit for each jurisdiction that you want to drive in with a scanner (regardless of whether or not you will be listening to their frequencies). For certain areas, the lawful permit issuer would be a nonexistent government entity.

For complete details, you should read my article, "No Scanner for You: New York's Flawed Approach to Protecting Police Radio Communications from Misuse by Criminals." It is available at very nominal cost from NF2G.com.

 

[c0untyb0y]

I wrote the county sheriff's office in Oneida some years back for a permit to operate in Oneida County. I stated my case for the need (volunteer FF) and that I was previously issued a permit from Cattaraugus County when I lived there. The Catt Co permit was unconditional, and I thought it was still on file with the sheriffs office there. Oneida County verified this with Cattaraugus County and lo and behold the permit was expired. The Oneida County Undersheriff wrote back to me stating that since 9/11, the county had tightened their permit process and would only authorize to individuals/agencies with "need to know" which I was not. Though, the letter did state I would be allowed to operate the scanner in my vehicle so long as I exclude from scanning any and all law enforcement channels (fire & EMS only, said the letter). I keep the letter in my truck just in case. That is as far as I took my letter writing campaign to get the scanner permits.

 

[kg4icg]

Looking at that makes me glad i'm a ham in Virginia. I've even been around the White House with a scanner getting inspected because of equipment deliveries being made for the construction jobs at the Old Executive Office Building, and everytime I showed up the Secret Service personel inspecting my truck asked me to turn up the scanner so they could hear what was going on with DC police and other jurisdictionds that i could pick up at the time in the location.

R Collins

 

[newsfotos]

Thanks guys. I am with the media and that gets twitchy. I know the newspaper has one old EDACS radio but it is not working properly if at all. When I get there in August, I'll check it out.

This is really stupid since criminals won't bother to say "please may I". I mean, I could hide a scanner in the car easily. That's just not my style. I operate above board just like I expect my government to do.

 

[DaveNF2G]

:twisted:

I wrote the county sheriff's office in Oneida some years back for a permit to operate in Oneida County. I stated my case for the need (volunteer FF) and that I was previously issued a permit from Cattaraugus County when I lived there. The Catt Co permit was unconditional, and I thought it was still on file with the sheriffs office there. Oneida County verified this with Cattaraugus County and lo and behold the permit was expired. The Oneida County Undersheriff wrote back to me stating that since 9/11, the county had tightened their permit process and would only authorize to individuals/agencies with "need to know" which I was not. Though, the letter did state I would be allowed to operate the scanner in my vehicle so long as I exclude from scanning any and all law enforcement channels (fire & EMS only, said the letter). I keep the letter in my truck just in case. That is as far as I took my letter writing campaign to get the scanner permits.

Keep that letter!

You appear to have a rare example of "mistake of law" as defined in Article 15 of the NYS Penal Law. What the law says, as interpreted by the Court of Appeals, is that a "mistake of law" defense against a criminal charge may only be asserted if you rely on an erroneous statement by legal authority or if the law is subsequently found to be in error.

I'd sure keep a letter like that one, which authorizes you to commit a crime, in case some other agency arrests you for the offense.

:twisted:

 

[n1das]

How does NY get around the "it shall not be unlawful" clause in the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 (Public Law 99-508)?

According to ECPA '86, the "it shall not be unlawful clause" clearly states that IT SHALL NOT BE UNLAWFUL to monitor radio transmissions made by police. ECPA doesn't state WHICH transmission made by police shall not be unlawful to monitor. It simply states that it shall not be unlawful to monitor them, period.

NY's law which attempts to restrict the means to listen to police radio communications would appear to directly conflict with federal law.

Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[chewie327]

NY's law does not say it's unlawful to monitor. It says it's unlawful to "equip a vehicle" with a radio capable of receiving those transmissions. It's a technicality, but lawyers and law makers love those.

 

[DaveNF2G]

chewie's right. The escape clause, as it were, is that NY's mobile scanner law is about regulating a motor vehicle on NY highways. The states have virtually total jurisdiction over highway regulations within their borders.

Besides which, ECPA does not contain any statements that preempt state laws on wiretapping, so the other 10 states with mobile scanner laws are OK, too, even though their laws do not appear in their V&T but rather in their penal codes. States may not have laws that conflict with the Constitution, but they may sometimes have more strict laws than federal statutes.