[Scan-DC] Fairfax County's Public Access Plan (draft)

[Alan Henney]

This is from Fairfax County PD public information officer Warren R.
Carmichael.  Since this is only a draft, Mr. Carmichael welcomes feedback.
Please pass it along to me and I'll make certain he receives it, or post it
directly to the list, since Mr. Carmichael reads this list.



FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
FAIRFAX COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT

PUBLIC SAFETY TRUNKED DIGITAL RADIO MONITORING FACT SHEET



Fairfax County public safety agencies are now utilizing a 20-channel,
trunked digital 800 megahertz radio system for all transmissions. This
system is also being utilized by the police departments of the City of
Fairfax and the Towns of Herndon and Vienna.

At present there are no commercially available scanner radios capable of
monitoring these transmissions. They can only be monitored with
vendor-provided radios programmed to receive specific talk groups.

While the primary police and fire dispatch/operational channels are
currently being simulcast in analog form so they can be monitored by
presently available scanners, such simulcasting cannot be continued
indefinitely since the four police 800 range channels involved will be
needed to accommodate the increasing volume of traffic on the trunked
system.

It has been determined that it is in the operational interest of the public
safety agencies for news media and interested citizens, such as Neighborhood
Watch participants, to be able to monitor the transmissions on certain
police and fire talk groups. Consequently, it is appropriate for the
agencies to facilitate monitoring access until such time as commercially
available scanners are on the market.

Such facilitation shall be accomplished as follows:

Media organizations or citizens will be responsible for procuring their own
Motorola or Motorola system-compatible receivers from commercial dealers.

Monitoring access must be requested from the public safety agencies. It
shall be the option of the agencies whether to conduct any type of
investigation or background check upon individual or organizational
applicants.

Applicants must sign a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement which will
also be signed by the Chief of Police and the Chief of the Fire and Rescue
Department. The agreement will specify the talk groups which will be
programmed and the conditions of use of the receiving radios.

The completed agreement will serve as authorization for a vendor possessing
the County system technical information and system key to program the
applicant's radio to receive the specified talk groups.

Individuals or organizations wishing to receive transmissions of the City of
Fairfax Police Department, Herndon Police Department or Vienna Police
Department must execute separate agreements with each of those agencies.


FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
FAIRFAX COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING AND AGREEMENT REGARDING
ACCESS TO PUBLIC SAFETY 800 MHz TRUNKED DIGITAL SYSTEM



This agreement entered into on this _______ day of ________________, _______
by and between the Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax County
Fire and Rescue Department ("agencies") and
_______________________________________  located at
_________________________________________ ("permittee") shall serve as a
memorandum of understanding between the permittee and the agencies of the
conditions governing the permittee's monitoring of  certain talk groups on
the Fairfax County 800 megahertz public safety trunked digital radio system
"system"). The parties agree as follows:

1. The permittee certifies that monitoring of the system will be solely for
lawful purposes.

2. The permittee is responsible for procuring the required Motorola or
Motorola system-compatible radio(s). All receiving radios must meet
specifications defined by the County radio system manager. The permittee is
responsible for all costs associated with the procurement and maintenance of
the receiving radio(s).

3. The permittee shall take this agreement, which shall serve as an official
authorization, to one of the designated service vendors who possess system
technical information and system keys, to have the permittee's radio(s)
programmed for the talk groups specified herein. The permittee shall be
responsible for all costs associated with said programming.

4. The service vendor shall ensure that the transmitting function of the
radio is disabled, and the permittee agrees that the transmitting function
will not be enabled at any time.

5. The permittee agrees to listen only to the talk groups specified in this
agreement.

6. The permittee and the agencies agree that the permittee's radio shall be
programmed to receive the following talk groups:

Police: Dispatch Groups one through nine.
Fire and Rescue: Groups 4A through 4E.

7. The permittee agrees that the agencies may conduct a background
investigation of the permittee at their discretion.

8. The permittee agrees not to use the receiving equipment on the system
prior to obtaining an identification code from the County radio system
manager.

9. The permittee shall always use only the assigned identification code.

10. The permittee shall immediately report to the agencies the loss, theft
or damage of any receiving equipment.

11. The permittee agrees to make the receiving equipment available upon
request by the County radio system manager or designee.

12. The agencies reserve the right to suspend or terminate some or all of
the permittee's listening privileges whenever the agencies determine, at
their sole and absolute discretion, the permittee has violated the terms of
this agreement and memorandum of understanding.

13. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the permittee shall be and
remain liable to the agencies, and shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless
the agencies and their officers, agents, employees and legal representatives
("indemnified parties") from all losses, damage, expenses, suits, claims,
demands, fines, penalties, awards liabilities and costs, including
reasonable attorneys' fees ("liability"), to the extent that the liability,
or the underlying harm causing the liability, is attributable to, arises out
of, or is in any way related to permittee's use of the rights and privileges
granted in the agreement and/or to the permittee's accessing the system, to
permittee's breach of or failure to observe or perform the terms, conditions
and restrictions of this agreement. The permittee shall (1) defend the
indemnified parties at the permittee's own expense; (2) pay on behalf of the
indemnified parties all fines, penalties, judgments and other sums related
to any liability; and (3) otherwise satisfy and cause to be discharged any
judgments that may obtain against the indemnified parties regarding any
liability.
The permittee hereby knowingly and voluntarily waives and releases the
agencies, their officers, agents, employees and legal representatives from
all claims, suits and causes of action which relate directly or indirectly
to the subject matter of this agreement, including those relating to
personal injury, to personal property, and to real property.

14. If the permittee is an organization, permittee affirms that the person
signing on behalf of the permittee has been duly authorized to do so, and
this agreement is legally binding on, and enforceable against the permittee
(and its governing body, if applicable) in accordance with its terms,
without the need for any further action by the permittee.

15. This agreement becomes effective on the date first written above, and
shall remain in effect until terminated by the agencies or the permittee.
The agencies can terminate this agreement immediately after notification to
the permittee that the permittee is operating in violation of local, state
or federal regulation or law or the terms of this agreement, if the
permittee does not immediately stop operating in such manner. When this
agreement is terminated, the permittee shall return all receiving equipment
to the County radio system manager or designee for de-programming and system
access shall cease.

16. Provision 13 shall survive the termination of this agreement.

17. This agreement is subject to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
subsequent acts, treaties and all regulations heretofore or hereafter made
by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and, further, subject to the
conditions and requirements set forth in the authorization from the FCC to
Fairfax County for use of the system. Permittee agrees not to do anything
whether permitted by the other terms of this agreement or not, to cause
Fairfax County and the agencies to be in violation of the terms of their
Private Land Mobile and General Mobile Radio Services Licenses. All FCC
regulations and proper radio protocol shall be adhered to at all times by
the permittee. This agreement is also subject to, and to be construed in
accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereti have caused this agreement to be
executed by their duly authorized representatives.


Permittee         Date

By:____________________________________________________________________
 Name       Title


FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT

By:____________________________________________________________________
 Chief of Police        Date

FAIRFAX COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT

By:____________________________________________________________________
 Fire Chief        Date