Did you read the article above?
from the comments made by someone claiming to be a 40 year veteran of the Rockdale S.O and spearheading the project., the word "encryption so the bad guys can't hear us" was the mantra given in his comments.
.
Technically....... The quote was "
...the digital trunking is used so the bad guys can not hear our communications," it didn't specifically say encryption.
And technically it was some retired deputy (not specifically of Roackdale) of "35 years" that was doing the commenting and not the guy who spearheaded the project and was the crowning achievement of his 40 year career. Although..... seeing as how the above referenced quote says "...can not hear
our communications," and another quote that said "...having
our pay cut." If he was retired, wouldn't it say "their" and not "our"

Something tells me that deputy may not be so retired after all. Just a sneaking suspicion.
The devil's in the details.
Sorta like those vendor contracts.