The Official Thread: Live audio feeds, scanners, and... wait for it.. ENCRYPTION!

W8KIC

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Times have changed.
If an agency wants to get the word out to the pubic, there are much more efficient ways to do that than expecting random scanner owners to be the eyes and ears of the department.
Better/more accurate information can be blasted out to every single individual with a cell phone, e-mail address, or social media account.
So what happens when the bad guys decide to setup their own social media accounts to keep abreast of what law enforcement is currently engaged in or shortly thereafter as a result of what those agencies just posted? Look, I get it. There's no perfect solution to this whole thing and I fully understand the need for encryption to be employed for the vast majority of what law enforcement has to deal with, day in and day out. But having the dispatch channels encrypted full time is a bit over the top. The number of law abiding citizens who just want to keep up with what their local LE agencies are doing en route to various calls for service far outnumber the handful of losers who're running scanner apps in their attempt to circumvent the law. If those agencies are that paranoid during a Bona fide emergency, they can always flip the encryption switch on the dispatch channel during the course of said emergency. And to those supervisors who're afraid their personnel will actually forget to flip the "E" switch during the onset of a legit crises, LEARN HOW TO USE THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT THE TAXPAYERS OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY HAVE JUST SPENT A FORTUNE ON TO HELP YOU PERFORM YOUR JOBS IN A MORE EFFICIENT MANNER! Police officers are, by and large, intelligent individuals who're more than up to the task of performing a few baby steps on their radios to achieve their objective of cutting off the outside world to the crises at hand!
 
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drdispatch

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....The number of law abiding citizens who just want to keep up with what their local LE agencies are doing en route to various calls for service far outnumber the handful of losers who're running scanner apps in their attempt to circumvent the law...
And how many states (like mine) already have laws on the books making it illegal to use a scanner in the commission of a crime, or in some cases, to even have one in a vehicle? Maybe enforcing the existing law might help?
 

mmckenna

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So what happens when the bad guys decide to setup their own social media accounts to keep abreast of what law enforcement is currently engaged in or shortly thereafter as a result of what those agencies just posted?

There are many benefits to using social media:
Agencies can choose not to share specific details that would jeopardize what they are doing.
Agencies can share more detailed information than a string of 10 codes and jargon that makes sense to everyone.
Agencies can reach a much wider population than just the scanner hobbyists.
Agencies can control what specific details are shared, reducing the chance of inexperienced individuals panicking about what they think they are hearing.
Agencies can easily share photos, videos or more detailed information over social media.

Agencies have zero requirements to cater to scanner listeners and hobbyists. That's a small segment of the overall population and they can do more good by reaching out to a larger audience via social media.


Look, I get it.

I'm not sure you do.

There's no perfect solution to this whole thing

Depends on what your point of view is. Encryption works exceedingly well.

and I fully understand the need for encryption to be employed for the vast majority of what law enforcement has to deal with, day in and day out. But having the dispatch channels encrypted full time is a bit over the top. The number of law abiding citizens who just want to keep up with what their local LE agencies are doing en route to various calls for service far outnumber the handful of losers who're running scanner apps in their attempt to circumvent the law. If those agencies are that paranoid during a Bona fide emergency, they can always flip the encryption switch on the dispatch channel during the course of said emergency.

Over simplification of the process doesn't help your argument. There are specific DOJ/FBI requirements and those requirements don't have an option for "whoops, sorry, we forgot…".

And to those supervisors who're afraid their personnel will actually forget to flip the "E" switch during the onset of a legit crises, LEARN HOW TO USE THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT THE TAXPAYERS OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY HAVE JUST SPENT A FORTUNE ON TO HELP YOU PERFORM YOUR JOBS IN A MORE EFFICIENT MANNER! Police officers are, by and large, intelligent individuals who're more than up to the task of performing a few baby steps on their radios to achieve their objective of cutting off the outside world to the crises at hand!

If only it was that easy.
 

chrismol1

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So this will be a weird question

Has anyone in an encrypted area with radios given to media noticed better reporting vs when was unencrypted?
 
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drdispatch

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So this will be a weird question

Has anyone in an encrypted area with radios given to media noticed better reporting vs when was unencrypted?
The reporter who covered police, fire, & the courts for our local newspaper asked to be loaned a radio so he could still monitor the police. He was flatly refused.
 

WX4JCW

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this thread has been up since 2011, and what i learned is there is no middle ground in this argument, the only solution is to continue to apply pressure, no ones mind is actually going to be changed through debate, so if you are anti encryption you have 2 choices, sit down shut up and take it, or be proactive and (legally) become a nusiance, fight where you can fight, and irritate them, all you really can do.
 

marcotor

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this thread has been up since 2011, and what i learned is there is no middle ground in this argument, the only solution is to continue to apply pressure, no ones mind is actually going to be changed through debate, so if you are anti encryption you have 2 choices, sit down shut up and take it, or be proactive and (legally) become a nusiance, fight where you can fight, and irritate them, all you really can do.
Or just make up things to try to scare people, right?
 

WX4JCW

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Or just make up things to try to scare people, right?
Not at all, I just disagree with your position and decided to fight it, I never expected the powers that be would be happy with my position, and most likely would attack it, I will never make up anything false in the fight, i cant control anyone else, besides its of no benefit to put anything flase out there, your side has to be right 100% of the time, we only need to be right once.
 

marcotor

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Not at all, I just disagree with your position and decided to fight it, I never expected the powers that be would be happy with my position, and most likely would attack it, I will never make up anything false in the fight, i cant control anyone else, besides its of no benefit to put anything flase out there, your side has to be right 100% of the time, we only need to be right once.
Well, again I don't have a "side". Amazingly there are things in life that don't need to have line of death in the sand "sides".
I live in an area that has been encrypted for more than 20 years. Apparently, you only bother to read the points you can use to turn up the histrionics, persecution, and general paranoia to make your position.

MY position is going about that way isn't going to get you where you want. It's perfectly fine. I wonder if you could reply to this without mentioning you being attacked, silenced, ostracized, et al.

Keep in mind YOU cited "people in the know" were grumbling about encryption making radio transmissions hard to understand. And when asked about a source, instead of identifying one went into the old, familiar, "they don't want us to know the truth" thing.
 
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