[Scan-DC] Police in Richmond area to encrypt radio channels

[Christopher Range]

On 6/20/2018 12:05 AM, Alan Henney wrote:
> Associated Press State & Local
>
> STATE AND REGIONAL
>
> Police in Richmond area to encrypt radio channels
>
> By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press
>
> June 18, 2018 Monday 10:03 PM GMT
>
> RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Police in Richmond and two neighboring counties are
> planning to encrypt their police radio channels, ending public access to
> their communications.
>
> Police chiefs in the city of Richmond, and Chesterfield and Henrico
> counties said Monday that their radio frequencies will be encrypted on July
> 2. After that, only public safety personnel will be able to monitor radio
> transmissions.
>
> In an email to news outlets, the chiefs said the move is aimed at "ensuring
> that the dissemination of in-progress tactics and activities during
> high-risk events is limited to those whose mission is to resolve events
> swiftly and with minimal risk to those involved."
>
> The chiefs also said they want to ensure that the communication of
> sensitive personal information does not violate legal rights or privacy.
>
> The chiefs acknowledged that the encryption could affect news outlets,
> which routinely use police scanners to track criminal activity. They said
> they've asked their staffs to come up with alternative ways of keeping news
> outlets informed about "active, real-time information."
>
> Police in Virginia Beach - the state's largest city - announced in May that
> they also plan to encrypt their radio channels. They said the move is aimed
> at preventing criminals from listening to police communications.
>
> Encrypting police radio transmissions is not a new trend, but one that
> could affect the relationship between police and the news media, said Megan
> Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
>
> "There's not a statutory or constitutional right to listen to a scanner ...
> but there has been this historical and practical relationship between the
> police and press to be able to have access to this so that the information
> can be gotten out to the public," Rhyne said.
>
> Jay Webb, news director of WHSV-TV in Harrisonburg, said he is opposed to
> encryption, but realizes police have their reasons for doing it.
>
> "My biggest fear is that we'll just flat-out miss things and will have to
> rely more and more on our viewers to tell us what they're seeing because we
> can't hear it on our scanners," Webb said in an email.
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Montgomery County(MD) encrypted sensitive channels(SWAT and the like) a 
long time ago.

Christopher