[Scan-DC] Durham, Canada [but who is next?]

[Alan Henney]

Oshawa This Week

July 13, 2012 Friday 
Final Edition

Over and out: Durham's fire communications will soon be encrypted like police

BYLINE: Jillian Follert, jfollert at durhamregion.com

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 875 words

DURHAM -- Eavesdropping on fire calls in Durham Region will soon be a thing of the past.

Regional council recently approved a $48.5 million project that will see Durham's emergency responders move to a common radio and communications system in the next two years.

Police, fire, EMS and other responders currently use a mix of services that make it difficult for them to communicate in real time. 

While the new "Next Gen" system will put them on the same frequency, it will also further shut out radio hobbyists, tow-truck drivers, reporters and anyone else who uses a scanner to listen in on emergency calls.

Durham Regional Police have used encryption to shield their radio communications since 2000, but other local emergency responders currently operate in the clear.

Under the new system communications from Durham's eight local fire services will become encrypted.

Oshawa Fire Chief Steve Meringer says encryption is long overdue to protect the privacy of local residents.

"There is sometimes confidential information that needs to be said over the radio...they may have to mention a disease or illness at a certain address. I don't think that should be out there," he says. "There should be confidentiality."â?¨ The fire chief says privacy should also extend to operational discussions between emergency workers, especially if they find themselves in jeopardy.

He points to death of York Regional Police Const. Garrett Styles, who stopped a minivan carrying four youths in June 2011 and was dragged by the vehicle before being pinned under it when the driver lost control.

"Everyone in the world was able to listen to the last 20 minutes of that young man's life. God forbid something like that happens here," Chief Meringer says.

It remains unclear whether Durham EMS will be affected by encryption, because the service uses a provincially operated radio system.

Durham EMS director Richard Armstrong said he wasn't able to comment on encryption or the role of EMS in the Next Gen project -- he referred all questions to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

Officials there did not respond to requests for comment.

Many local radio hobbyists get their equipment from Durham Radio in Whitby, which carries an array of CB radios, scanners and accessories.

"A lot of people who buy from us are just interested in knowing what's going on in their community. It's as simple as that," says salesman Larry Goucher.

He says the equipment is also popular among tow-truck drivers, long distance truckers and aviation enthusiasts who like to keep an ear on the airports.

Matt Shaver, a local HAM radio operator and all-around communications hobbyist, isn't impressed that more encryption is coming to Durham.

The Oshawa man has a collection of about six radios that he uses to pull in information from as far away as Hamilton and Cobourg, listening in on emergency dispatches as well as aircraft and railroad communications.

"It's good to know what's going on in my own community," he says.

Mr. Shaver already questions the logic of encrypting Durham police communications when much larger police services such as Toronto, New York City and Los Angeles operate in the clear.

He says extending that silence to include local fire services is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and questions the privacy defence.

"In the six years I've been listening I've never once heard a patient's name used over the radio," he says.

Chris Leth is another hobbyist opposed to the change.

He was introduced to CB radios and scanners by his father, a former trucker, and now loves to spend his evenings and weekends tinkering with his collection of equipment and keeping an ear on the local action.

"I think it's good to have citizens listening. We pay the salaries for the police and fire and ambulance and they're there to serve the public," he says. "I don't think there's anything wrong with us wanting to know what they're doing. What do they have to hide?"

Asked whether it would have been less expensive to go with a radio option that doesn't include encryption for fire -- or removes encryption from police -- DRPS Superintendent Joe Maiorano didn't have an answer.

"It's difficult to say because it wasn't one of the requirements we asked them to bid on," he said, referring to a lengthy tender process that saw the Region whittle down proposals from several bidders. "This project was driven by user-defined needs...we determined the operational requirements for users and matched those with technology offerings."â?¨He added that while many services using older models don't have it, encryption is "fairly standard" for public safety systems being rolled out today.

"If we have a takedown occurring do we want our suspects to know what activities we're planning?" he said. "We've deemed (encryption) to be a requirement. It's there to support officer safety, public safety...everyone's safety."

The majority of police and fire services in the GTA are not currently encrypted, including Toronto.

However Supt. Maiorano stressed many area emergency services are looking into encryption as their current systems come to end of life.

"Toronto is looking at moving to it by 2014," he noted.

Reporter Jillian Follert can be found on Twitter @JillianFollert and on Facebook by searching Jillian Follert