[Scan-DC] "FREE SPEECH" from Monterey County Weekly

[Alan Henney]

Monterey County Weekly

Pg. 4 No. 1507

FREE SPEECH

June 8, 2017 Thursday

FULL TEXT 

Journalists have long used police scanners to track police and fire calls in real-time, giving them the ability to race to the scene and get information to the public quickly. But over the past several years law enforcement agencies across the country have been switching from analog systems to encrypted digital systems-blocking journalists from access. In the past week Monterey County launched the first phase of its own Next Generation Public Safety Radio System, or NGEN. County officials said in a statement that for the safety of first responders, who may be in jeopardy if criminals are listening in before and after the commission of violent crimes, they would not allow non-law enforcement groups to listen in. Media legal experts consider the scanner information public. A spokesman for the Monterey County Chief Law Enforcement Officer Association says fire operations-which stage at almost every major event-will not be encrypted.