I saw this on the main Calif. database page here at RR:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=2422
The database is accurate - also when things really go downhill at Cal Expo (almost a nightly basis) be sure to monitor SPD channels 1 and 3, along with SSD channel 1. There can be quite a bit of activity on both agencies dispatch channels since both agencies surround the Cal Expo property. The area around Howe & Arden and Arden Fair mall are definite areas to avoid when Cal Expo midway shuts down.
During the fair, law enforcement duties are handled by Cal Expo Fair PD and various surrounding agencies in the region. Most of the radio traffic on Cal Expo channels is fairly low power but can be very interesting listening.
I heard traffic around that area and will check my recordings. I was working late and was dealing with hardware issues and had to turn off my feed I was listening to. After I got back home at 2300 it seemed as I was just catching the tail. I'm sure folks will be able to fill you in from first had monitoring, but i'll check to see what I caught.
Hey Stingray327. The event happened last night, but I record my scanners and can go back and listen to events of interest. I caught the tail end in realtime, but answered Gbcue's question from my recordings. Most of the scanners you see in my signatire are mixed and fed to the internet. Air units Star and later Air-1 operated on PD 3 and Matro Air to Air during the event.
Great stuff! Keep up the great work. I enjoyed it and was getting a stereo effect.
What's the cause? Those late night concerts? I went the Sac. State Fair for about 20 years straight and never saw any problems but saw lots of potential for it when it closed at 10 PM and young people were still coming in to see the concerts. I haven't attended in the past few years because of the heat.
Not to get off topic, but I stream in Dual Mono. SRRCS on the left and Conventional on the Right Channel. Left has SPD, SSD, City and Metro Fire, and other stuff like RT and outside agencies. Right has aviation, Media, CHP and Fire conventional simulcasts During Fire Season I also have CAlfire Air Attack. You can use the balance on your media player to isolate or attenuate either channel to listen to what you want. If I'm at my scanners, I'll tune scanners to breaking events. There's also alpha tag data that will show up to tell you what channel my BC246 is scanning. Thanks for checking it out I'm pretty consistant and stream 24/7. I keep my recordings for about a month and save major events and items of interest. Glad you enjoyed the feed. Thanks.
P.S. There are a few of us who have streams also and threads we've posted to talk about them. They're cool folks and streams too.
The biggest cause and Catch 22 is the Midway. It closes later and attracts a lot of the younger crowd. Soon as dusk hits, you get a wide range of "young adults" from many different backgrounds. You have the vast majority there trying to have some evening fun with their friends, while a number of individuals become intoxicated and/or territorial. Gangs and wanna-be gang bangers also visit the late night activities. Heat, large crowds, groups of friends (and/or gangs) is a great mix for confrontation. Tempers flare, people look for an excuse to fight and things go downhill. Another factor is the mob mentality. You get a large group of people together and fear decreases and courage increases. Several fights break out, people get stupid, cops have to move people out, detain and arrest people - which can cause the "disturbing of the beehive" result. You get a large influx of people leaving at one time, traffic gets a bit gridlocked and tempers flare. A good sized number of issues develop near and around the fairgrounds. Groups of innocent people and groups of "gang bangers" gather. Again, get a group of people at night - mad at the world, mad at the cops, mad at the fair closing, mad at the "other" people they don't like ... well it's a recipe for confrontation. Nearby Denny's, Lyon's and nearby gas stations tend to get flooded with groups of people.
Cops have the duty of maintaining a delicate balance of letting kids have fun and not getting out of control. The crowds greatly out-number the cops too. You don't want Cal Expo to look like a police-state fair, but you don't want to lose the edge of being able to control things when they get out of hand. Bottles and objects get thrown at cops, fights break out, weapons get recovered, people run from cops, stolen cars are found in the parking lot, people shoot of guns - It is simply the result of a large crowd of people from all walks of life. Visit Great America in the Bay Area on a weekend. You'll see the same thing occur regularly.
People do stupid things when in groups.
Should they stop the Midway early? Very early? Before dark? Or will they have the same problems, just earlier?