[Scan-DC] Alexandria Police to Scanner Listeners: Drop Dead

[Blair Thompson]

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=343862&paper=59&cat=104

Silence of the Scanners

Alexandria police consider proposal to prevent public access to its scanner radio.

By Michael Lee Pope
Thursday, September 02, 2010  

For many people, listening to the actions of the Alexandria Police Department on a scanner radio is a way to know what’s happening in their city — everything from crime and fires to calls from people who are having trouble breathing. But police officials are concerned that the subculture of people who make a habit of listening to the police scanner has become too diverse, and that advances in technology have made it too easy for burglars to have a minute-by-minute account of what public-safety officials are up to through their iPhone.

"When we made an apprehension on one of these guys, we scrolled through the telephone and the last thing they had been monitoring was our police frequency," said Deputy Chief Eddie Reyes. "They are literally monitoring the police response as they are committing the act."
....

"At the end of the day, it’s a privilege not a right," said Reyes. "We’ve gotten to the point in the world where public safety and officer safety has to outweigh the privilege of being able to monitor barking dogs and cars parking by fire hydrants and things like that."
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