Strathroy P.D.

[moonbounce]

Asking for the public's help after two armed robberies, at two pharmacies, one in Strathroy and one in Mount Bridges. Unfortunately they use radios that we can't listen to anymore or they may have got all the help necessary. Ya really have to wonder about where tax dollars go, and what benefit to the taxpayer it is. It is like the use of digital radios kept the armed robbers out of harms way, I don't think it is supposed to work that way.

 

[Forts]

I heard them do a radio test with OPP on P-Comm this morning.... too bad that's the only thing we hear any more. This is the double edged sword that goes along with unscannable digital/encrypted radio systems. More secure for them, but they lose any benefits they may of had from the public being able to watch out for wanted parties, missing persons etc etc.

 

[moonbounce]

More secure for them, but they lose any benefits they may of had from the public being able to watch out for wanted parties, missing persons etc etc.
__________________

No actually you missed the point, as have police departments and the rest of society . They ( the police )do not lose any benifits,nothing happens to them, they go home at the end of their shift and go on with their life. The victims life will be turned upside down inside out.

If the public were able to listen in on their comms, they might have been able to help ( I have had the occasion to do the same thing myself, more than once, in the distant past when listening to police comms was possible). This is not about protecting their interests ( radio comms) it is about protecting citizens. Not being able to listen to their comms, didn't help the two pharmacies that got robbed. As you can tell I am a little irrate about this, sorry I don't mean to take this out on you. It is like we are turnig into a secret society, where no one knows what anyone is doing, including the police. Signs of big brother.

Moonbounce

 

[Forts]

*shrug* we can keep those debates for a different forum

 

[primehifi]

My family's pharmacy got knocked off late last year.

The RCMP here are in the clear (the RCMP were the ones to respond) but because the local PD ISN'T in the clear, no one has a scanner anymore because of the towns proximity to the local PD's enforcement zone and listening to the RCMP is pointless (so little traffic). Lack of listening cause people to lose interest and now just about no one in this area has a scanner.

I agree 100% that having the public closed off to the standard dispatch chatter is bad. In a situation like the robbery that happened at our pharmacy, if there were more ears to scanners (as their would be, gotta love the old ladies) I'm certain someone would of poked their head out the window to get a better look and maybe catch people returning home or fleeing the scene.

We had cameras and despite the RCMP telling us they were better then every CCTV system they've seen in the area, they weren't good enough to aid in a conviction. A friend (also on here) actually has the recording of the call and the RCMP asking the local PD for assistance in setting up road blocks. The community is so small, if even 3-4 more people had scanners they would of probably been caught while still on the road.

Looking at it from the point of view from the bad guys: Knowing full well that "no one" has a scanner and that no one is going to be looking out the window for you is HUGE.

 

[Jammin_Jay]

Well, it looks like thats the way things are going. Even the media complains when major cities switch over to encryption. There is no LAW that says that police can't do that. I have accepted that fact, that some of police will be encrypted and many more to come.

I now focus my monitoring and scanner hobbies on things that i wanted to monitor that are not encrypted.

This topic has been talked about many times, since encryption has started with local police. Theres not much we can do about it. These are the times now.

In Ontario, theres plenty to monitor with the OPP, to various fire services, to MNR, MOH, ems and others that are not encrypted, that may actually give you plenty of information about an incident occuring, without even listening to police. Not all, but some.

Digital encrypted p25, Nextel, Provoice, are not monitorable with any scanner, and probably will never be.

I know its a shock when it happens, (the switchover to encryption), and we rant on here about it, but as i said , not much we can do.

 

[Beanzy]

I live in Mt Brydges and I will tell you something the last I was told Sept09 there are only 3 officers on duty at night and they have to cover a area the size of London this info came from a officer from Strathroy-Caradoc. The time of the robbery was at 6pm and the main street is fairly quiet at that time and with most of the streets leading to back roads or to the 402 they must have been checking it out to get away as they did.There were OPP and Strathroy-Caradoc Police there when I walked by so evan if we or anybody could have been listening they still had a good chance at getting away as they did. Sorry about the rant I had to give what info I know Thank You.

 

[Muxlow]

Strath must have really good reception with their radios. I was behind a Unit 8 from Strathroy today in London on Dundas/Highbury and i could see the office talking on this radio. I had CC and prov-com on my 396 and didnt hear anything on either of them.
Not to shabby, Wonder how good the reception was on the dispatchers and the cruzers end

 

[Beanzy]

I wish I could pick them up all I get is the Fire dept and all of Middlesex Fire the water tower in Mt brydges has all the antenna,s on it and it,s less then a 5 minute walk from my house.

 

[Forts]

Strath must have really good reception with their radios. I was behind a Unit 8 from Strathroy today in London on Dundas/Highbury and i could see the office talking on this radio. I had CC and prov-com on my 396 and didnt hear anything on either of them.
Not to shabby, Wonder how good the reception was on the dispatchers and the cruzers end

If he wasn't on 142.7700 then he should have been on 142.3350 or 143.4450. The last 2 are both TRBO however. And as far as reception goes, the TRBO seems to propagate pretty well. I can pick up Sarnia Transit/Works sqwaking away here in Strathroy with an external antenna.

 

[joneil2000]

I live in Mt Brydges and I will tell you something the last I was told Sept09 there are only 3 officers on duty at night and they have to cover a area the size of London this info came from a officer from Strathroy-Caradoc. The time of the robbery was at 6pm and the main street is fairly quiet at that time and with most of the streets leading to back roads or to the 402 they must have been checking it out to get away as they did.There were OPP and Strathroy-Caradoc Police there when I walked by so evan if we or anybody could have been listening they still had a good chance at getting away as they did. Sorry about the rant I had to give what info I know Thank You.

My parents used to have a farm north of #7, and at night, the closest OPP station on duty, in case you called 911, was in Sebringville, almost a one hour drive away from them, and all their neighbours. So if you had any problems that needed the police, unless you were lucky and a car happened to be near by, you were out of luck if you needed immediate assitance. Listening to a scanner was one way to tell if your neighbours where in trouble, and organized gangs do rob these farm homes, we saw it happen to neighbours. We saw some homes get hit twice in a couple months, other cases dogs would be poisoned and then the farm hit a few days later.
Mostly homes would be hit during the daytime when nobody was in the house. But people were terrified - what if, at night?

Not all uses of scanners are for "nefarious" reasons. Not by a long shot. Yes there was neighbourhood watch, but unlike a city, your closest neighbour might be a mile or more away, so it just doesn't have the same dynamic as a city.

Sorry about my rant too.