[Scan-DC] Police leery of cheap smart-phone scanner app

[Alan Henney]

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

February 27, 2011 Sunday 
Main Edition

Police leery of cheap smart-phone scanner app

BYLINE: KATIE KENNEDY; Advocate staff writer; 

SECTION: A; Pg. 01

LENGTH: 1129 words

Just a few years ago, someone wanting to listen to the dispatches of their local police department had to purchase and program special equipment. Now, modern technology has made it possible to transform popular smart phones into personal police scanners.

Several applications that can be downloaded for little to no cost on many mobile phones stream police dispatches directly to the device, making it possible for anyone with an iPhone, Android or Blackberry to monitor police activity in real time.

The Baton Rouge Police Department learned in early February that its radio dispatches had become available to the public for free or at very low cost, and the discovery has top officials at the department alarmed, said Sgt. Donald Stone, a police spokesman.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Charles Mondrick said criminals could use the increased accessibility provided by the new technologies as a tool for committing crimes. 

"I have no problem with law-abiding citizens monitoring police radio transmissions," Mondrick said. "However, we have no way to separate the criminal, terrorist element from the good citizens."

Mondrick said concerns for officer safety and homeland security led the department's command staff and city-parish administrators to meet to discuss ways of limiting access to the radio dispatches.

James Leung created one of the most popular scanner apps, 5-0 Radio, in October 2009. Leung said in an e-mail from his home in London that his app has been downloaded more than 9 million times and gets about 150,000 new users each week. 5-0 Radio was the No. 5 top paid app overall in 2010, he said.

Leung explained his app uses volunteers with police scanner equipment who hook up the devices to a computer and upload their local police department's stream to the app's servers. The servers then distribute the streams to the app's users.

Leung said none of the thousands of departments featured on the app have requested to be removed, but he would not hesitate to do so if asked.

"We take public safety seriously, and we will take off any communication that can pose a threat to it," he said.

His app bans any tactical, narcotics, detectives or SWAT communications from being available to its users, Leung said. What's left is the routine dispatches and talkgroups for law enforcement, he said.

But Mondrick said the ease of access to even everyday police chatter is cause for concern.

Previously, those wanting to listen to Baton Rouge police dispatches had to buy a scanner, which can cost upward of $200, and have that scanner specifically programmed to pick up city-police transmissions, Stone said.

"In the past, scanners were possessed by a small section of the public, and most of the public that listened to police radio transmissions were law-abiding citizens," Mondrick said, noting there were some instances in which police found scanners in the homes of criminals. "Now, everyone can monitor police transmissions with ease and at a low cost."

Edward Shihadeh, a sociology professor and criminologist at LSU, said he hasn't heard of any major discussions about the modern scanner technology in criminological circles, but he doesn't foresee criminals using the technology to aid in the commission of crimes.

"That's a new one, and it remains to be seen what the impact will be," Shihadeh said. "But there's always been scanners available with little impact. My guess is it won't be all that relevant."

Stone said police have not encountered any instances of criminals using the app as a tool for committing crimes.

Users seem to view the transmissions as entertainment, he said.

"People like to know what goes on in their hometowns," Stone said. "Years ago, people would sit around and listen to their scanners. It's entertaining, which is why you have so many law-enforcement TV shows."

The feedback Leung receives from the public and departments featured has been "quite positive," he said.

"Emergency responders use our app when they are off duty or when their radio is malfunctioning," he said. "Friends and family of the emergency responders like to keep track of their loved ones. It gives them an ease of mind when they get real-time updates of what is happening."

Leung also listed several specific instances of his app aiding EMS workers, retired and off-duty police officers and a doctor who uses the app to prepare for potential patients. People in Australia also used the app for updates during the floods last month, Leung said.

One user of the app helped catch a suspect who had fatally shot a police officer, Leung said. The mortally wounded officer's partner radioed in a description of the fleeing vehicle, but missed the license plate, Leung said.

An app listener heard the dispatches, spotted the vehicle and phoned in the license plate number, Leung said. That tip helped catch the killer, he said.

"There are actually departments that volunteer to provide the feed to us," he said. "The benefits are countless."

Mondrick said the "small amount" of feedback the department has received from the public has been favorable and centered around area residents not realizing how busy city police are on a daily basis.

"That is a benefit," the chief said. "But the potential for abuse by the criminal or terrorist element of society eclipses that."

Whitney Breaux, a Baton Rouge-based public relations professional who specializes in new media, said from a Police Department public relations angle, the positive side of increased access by the public is increased understanding.

"It gives people an inside, behind-the-scenes perspective to what happens in our city and how quickly officers respond," she said. "It reaffirms for the public that they are responsive and interested in situations that happen in our community."

Breaux said she's recently seen and heard Baton Rouge residents talking about the app everywhere from Twitter to the local beauty salon.

The tech-savvy public relations specialist said conversations she's followed on online forums such as Tigerdroppings.com and social media consist of people amazed that the software is available and legal, and shocked at the amount of crime in the city.

But that increased access comes with its own set of risks, she said.

Professionals involved in technology and new media fields are concerned by what developers can produce and then make available to the masses through popular products such as iPhones, Breaux said.

"What standards are they being held to?" she said. "What needs to happen is some type of oversight from the companies of what they allow developers of apps to produce, without infringing on rights, of course."

Stone said there is no law against the public listening to police dispatches through scanners or scanner apps and it is legal for anyone, including convicted felons, to own a scanner.