Scanner in vehicle

[KK4JUG]

On top of knowing the laws, if you do get pulled over, maybe shutdown and stow the gear. Just because something may be legal, it won’t stop a cop who’s less than honest from lying to you and trying to cite you or take your gear.

Lying to you about what?? I realize that the laws in California are different than anywhere else in the country but a cop isn't going to write a ticket for something that's "not on the books." Furthermore, I don't believe any cop is going to jeopardize his job by trying to "confiscate" a scanner.

And the others are right. Make a few movements in the vehicle when the officer stops you. I can all but guarantee that you'll extend the length of the stop.

 

[KB7MIB]

An Amateur radio license does not work everywhere. As I recall, in New York state, an Amateur radio license only exempts Amateur radio gear that has extended receive coverage outside of the ham bands. A scanner is not a ham radio, and can still be confiscated, and you can still be cited, if you are caught with one.

John
Peoria, AZ

 

[PrivatelyJeff]

Lying to you about what?? I realize that the laws in California are different than anywhere else in the country but a cop isn't going to write a ticket for something that's "not on the books." Furthermore, I don't believe any cop is going to jeopardize his job by trying to "confiscate" a scanner.

And the others are right. Make a few movements in the vehicle when the officer stops you. I can all but guarantee that you'll extend the length of the stop.

They will in an attempt to intimidate you. I’ve personally had a CHP officer threaten to cite me for something that wasn’t illegal (not in my opinion but factually not illegal). When I told him he was wrong, he got very aggressive and started trying to find other reasons to harass me. He let me off with a “warning” though I wish he would have wrote me a ticket so I could have embarrassed him in front of a judge.

And I personally know someone who had their scanner forcibly removed from their car by a local county sheriff because the sheriff either believed or outright lied and said that only cops or former cops could have them.

And I’m not saying be obvious, but maybe turn it off and throw a towel over it.

 

[KK4JUG]

They will in an attempt to intimidate you. I’ve personally had a CHP officer threaten to cite me for something that wasn’t illegal (not in my opinion but factually not illegal). When I told him he was wrong, he got very aggressive and started trying to find other reasons to harass me. He let me off with a “warning” though I wish he would have wrote me a ticket so I could have embarrassed him in front of a judge.

And I personally know someone who had their scanner forcibly removed from their car by a local county sheriff because the sheriff either believed or outright lied and said that only cops or former cops could have them.

And I’m not saying be obvious, but maybe turn it off and throw a towel over it.

I spent over 3 decades in law enforcement. Those things, if they happened, are definite exceptions to the rule and you'll never be able to convince me otherwise. The other 99.9999% of the cops don't operate that way. That said, I'm not going to get into a spitting contest with you because this is not the forum for that. Once I post this, I'll unsubscribe and be done with it.

 

[Citywide173]

Wanting to use a scanner to bypass state laws is no valid reason to get an amateur radio license.

Where did he say he wanted to bypass state law? If there is an exemption and he goes through the process of becoming certified as an amateur operator to meet the qualifications of that exemption, is he not actually going out of his way to be in compliance with the law?

 

[PrivatelyJeff]

I spent over 3 decades in law enforcement. Those things, if they happened, are definite exceptions to the rule and you'll never be able to convince me otherwise. The other 99.9999% of the cops don't operate that way. That said, I'm not going to get into a spitting contest with you because this is not the forum for that. Once I post this, I'll unsubscribe and be done with it.

They did happen and in my experience, some whole departments are the exception to your rule.

And my point was that you will never know the attitude the officer may have about what you are doing, so try not to draw extra attention to yourself if you get pulled over. Turn it off and if possible, make its presence less obvious. You should want that officer to pay as little attention to you as possible and have both on your way as soon as possible.

 

[Danny37]

I spent over 3 decades in law enforcement. Those things, if they happened, are definite exceptions to the rule and you'll never be able to convince me otherwise. The other 99.9999% of the cops don't operate that way. That said, I'm not going to get into a spitting contest with you because this is not the forum for that. Once I post this, I'll unsubscribe and be done with it.

I've had my fair run in with good cops and unfair cops. Maybe where you are, cops are always on point but the fact of the matter is like with any field there's always those bad bunch. I work with cops on a daily basis and even have family in law enforcement. But when I was pulled over several years ago, the cop told me I didn't stop at the stop sign. I told him I did and he told me "are you saying I'm lying then" now that was a trick question because if I said no then I would admit guilt and if I said yes, it would obviously push him over and get him pissed. So I said I know I didn't run the stop sign and I even have a dashcam camera to prove it, (this was a company car and they had dashcam cameras installed for insurance purposes) he said I have no time to watch your video and went back to his car. Stalled for 20 minutes and gave me a ticket. I went to see a judge and I brought my iPhone with the video time/date stamped of the incident and judge threw out the ticket and apologized. The cop was very nasty, even though I treated him with the upmost respect. I did write down his badge number and car number and when he saw me do that he got even agitated and said I was wasting my time. Like other have said you never know who's going to stop you.