Hopefully they will only encrypt specific talkgroups like ADMIN, CID, SWAT, etc. and not the main dispatch talkgroups like FIRE DISPATCH, S.O. DISPATCH, etc. Agencies think they are doing a great thing for themselves when they encrypt every talkgroup in a system, but they hamper interoperability between agencies when they do this. Interoperability is not just an officer in one jurisdiction being able to communicate with an officer in another, it is also their ability to monitor and anticipate the actions of a criminal or officers in another jurisdiction too. I know several law enforcement officers who use to keep a scanner in their patrol car while on duty so they could listen to routine dispatch traffic in adjacent counties so they could stay one step ahead of something that might be coming their way, i.e. chase, lookout on armed robbery suspects, description of a vehicle involved in car jacking, severe weather, etc. but now they have gotten to the point where they don't even bother because some agencies have made it so difficult to monitor by encrypting all talkgroups in their system or even switched to systems like MotoTRBO or NEXEDGE that can't be scanned. It's kind of a shame because those type officers are the ones that were always one step ahead, staying on top of things and making things positive and productive happen without having to wait on a dispatcher in one 9-1-1 Center to make a phone call to a dispatcher in another 9-1-1 Center then relay the information. This can and does waste valuable seconds, so it is no wonder it takes longer to catch the bad guys now a days, if they get caught at all.... Boy, how times have changed...
