[Scan-DC] iPhones' police scanner apps can be illegal

[Steve Siegel]

There are several exemptions possible in Kentucky, including possessing an Amateur Radio License.

See http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtlaws_mar04.html

_________ 
73 de K3SLS

-----Original Message-----
From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Alan Henney
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 8:46 PM
To: Scan DC
Subject: [Scan-DC] iPhones' police scanner apps can be illegal


Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

February 5, 2011 Saturday

iPhones' police scanner apps can be illegal

BYLINE: James Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 562 words

Feb. 05--New apps such as "Scanner911," "5-O Radio" and "Police Scanner 2" for portable devices such as the iPhone and Android phones let users listen to police scanner traffic from virtually any city.

But if a person is caught with a scanner app while in the car or out of the house, that person could be fined, jailed or both. 

The apps basically function like police scanners, giving the listener a stream of police, fire and emergency services scanner traffic from a variety of cities. Such apps, and traditional police scanners, can be used legally in the home. Since the apps function like police scanners, Daviess County Attorney Claud Porter said they fall under the state law that prohibits their use outside of the home.

Using a police scanner or scanner app on the road creates a safety hazard for motorists and emergency personnel, Porter said.

"You can have them (in your home), but you can't have them in your car," Porter said.

The fear is motorists will use scanner apps to follow emergency personnel to accidents or police actions, Porter said.

"You're not supposed to get within so many feet of an emergency vehicle, and you can't follow an emergency vehicle," Porter said. Also, "if you get around an accident, it creates a problem for other traffic," he said.

Officer Marian Cosgrove, public information officer for the Owensboro Police Department, said scanner apps, like traditional scanners, are prohibited for use outside the home because they can tip off people who are committing crimes.

"It's a safety issue" for police, Cosgrove said. A person committing a crime could use the app to hear if police have been dispatched to the scene, how many officers are responding and even from what direction the officers are coming, Cosgrove said.

"It's a point of safety for officers that people committing crimes don't know what we're saying," Cosgrove said.

Occasionally, a scanner transmission will include the name of the person making the complaint or reporting suspicious activity, which creates the possibility of the person committing the crime retaliating against the complainant, Cosgrove said.

"That's public safety, not just officer safety," Cosgrove said.

The penalty for being caught using a scanner app outside the home is a misdemeanor, which can carry a fine of up to $500 and up to 12 months in jail. Police, emergency personnel and members of the media are exempt.

Having the app on your iPhone or Android phone itself is not a crime, so police wouldn't normally get a search warrant in order to check a person's iPhone for the app, Porter said. But if a person was regularly showing up at a crime scene, police could reasonably suspect a person is using the app and get a search warrant, Porter said.

Porter said people can legally use the apps at home but are breaking the law when the app is used elsewhere.

"Something that wasn't illegal when you're sitting at home suddenly is illegal to possess" if used outside the house, Porter said.

James Mayse, 691-7303, jmayse at messenger-inquirer.com

To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.