GrandpaFrank
Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
- Messages
- 152
My grandson asked me if scanners were illegal here in los angeles and I told him they weren't and told him that they are illegal only for 3 reasons. 1 being that you cannot drive around with one unless you have a special permit. 2 being that you must not use to aid in the commission of a crime. 3 being that you cannot repeat what you hear to any 3rd party that was not present at the original time of the transmission.
He insists that 2 people he saw had their scanners confiscated due to 1 being an ex felon and the other guy got it confiscated just for walking around with it at an active crime scene after stating he was neighborhood watch. I have always assumed it was within my legal rights as a tax paying citizen to listen to any unencrypted transmissions at my sole discretion. Am I correct on this? I have searched all the current California laws, los angeles in particular and I see nothing there that mentions the police department being legally allowed to confiscate police scanners. Maybe someone here more experienced with the technicalities invloved here can shed some light on this vague subject.
He insists that 2 people he saw had their scanners confiscated due to 1 being an ex felon and the other guy got it confiscated just for walking around with it at an active crime scene after stating he was neighborhood watch. I have always assumed it was within my legal rights as a tax paying citizen to listen to any unencrypted transmissions at my sole discretion. Am I correct on this? I have searched all the current California laws, los angeles in particular and I see nothing there that mentions the police department being legally allowed to confiscate police scanners. Maybe someone here more experienced with the technicalities invloved here can shed some light on this vague subject.