[Scan-DC] Police radio traffic goes digital route

Fri Jun 5 21:21:35 EDT 2009

The Capital (Annapolis, MD)

June 4, 2009 Thursday

Police radio traffic goes digital route

BYLINE: LISA BEISEL Staff Writer

SECTION: ARUNDELREPORT; Pg. A5

LENGTH: 500 words

In an increasingly digital world, city and county police have made the
jump into new technology.

Police radio transmissions are now digital, a switch made last month.
The change has left the old scanner channels sitting quiet.

Lt. Jeffrey Silverman, commander of communications for the county
Police Department, said the changeover on May 7 had been in the works
for years.

New digital towers enhance the coverage area of transmissions, which
cuts down on static and other issues, Silverman said. In the past,
weak signals could cause communication problems, but now the county
has about 10 towers so that radio calls can be clear.

"I think what digital does, it eliminates all the background noise so
there is no scratchiness," he said.

In literal terms, that means when an officer speaks into his radio,
his voice is converted into a digital file that is then transmitted.
It causes about a half-second delay, but it eliminates static.

"It's just new technology," he said.

They're not the first to make the switch.

Several surrounding jurisdictions, including Baltimore City, have
already done it. And jurisdictions that still use the old analog
system will still be able to communicate with city and county police
when necessary, officials said.

The move could be bad news for those who like to keep an ear on police
activities. But residents may still purchase digital scanners and
listen to activities just like they used to.

Though digital transmissions can be encrypted, making it impossible
for a civilian to listen to, county police haven't taken that measure.
There are some encrypted channels, but they are only used for
sensitive information, such as investigations.

"We're not trying to hide information from citizens," Silverman said.

There also are a couple of Web sites from which people can access the
county's digital police chatter.

Annapolis has always been on the same system as the county, and the
city decided to make the switch as well, Silverman said.

So far, he's only received a few calls asking about the digital
transition. Most people interested in police scanners already knew the
change was coming. And the people who are interested tend to be
retired police officers and citizens active in crime watch groups.

"Retired police officers seem to want to listen," Silverman said.

Digital scanners can be found online for a few hundred dollars,
depending on the model and size.

Ed Kenny, owner of Wilmer's Communications Inc. in Edgewater, said
he's been seeing about four customers a week looking for digital
scanners. Since the changeover has been in the works for some time,
most were prepared before the switch happened, he said.

People who listen to scanners seem to be a different kind of hobbyist.

"They're addicted to it, you know? They're addicted to that action,"
he said. "They're in a breed of their own. They've got to know what's
going on."

Scanners there can run from $250 to more than $1,000, based on the
model. Most scanner fans end up with one that's $400 to $600, Kenny
said.

SUBJECT: POLICE FORCES (92%); LAW ENFORCEMENT (89%)

GEOGRAPHIC: BALTIMORE, MD, USA (79%); ANNAPOLIS, MD, USA (79%)
MARYLAND, USA (79%); MARYLAND USA (79%) UNITED STATES (79%)

LOAD-DATE: June 5, 2009

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper