[ScanIndiana] Scanner

Don [email protected]
Fri, 23 Aug 2002 17:42:16 -0500


At 12:55 PM 8/23/02 -0700, you wrote:
>It is illegal in the state of Indiana to carry your
>"police" scanner in your vehicle. unless under special
>circumstances with a permit.
>
>   Enough said.
>
>
>-There is No such Thing in Indiana as a Scanner Permit , and Under Indana 
>Law as read Their is No such Thing as a SCANNER ?

Example You go to Radio Shack and Buy the Scanner You saw on sale , 99 
percent of the Radio shack , I Have all the answers Employees,  Will tell 
You if Ask is it Illegal for You to have the scanner ?  Will tell You Yes 
of course You can . they work on a sales commission.  as Soon as You walk 
out the Door Guess What under Indiana Law that Scanner just changed into a 
Portable POLICE RADIO . And if Stopped You had better Be exempt under The 
Indiana Scanner Law. You can Be Arrested and veh towed. and that is even if 
you are Exempt , If The Law Enforcement officer is Not aware of the 
Exemption Laws.
Why You ask ?  Because most people stopped By the Law Enforcement Officer ( 
If They had provable cause to stop and Question } Do NOT have the Right to 
have that Scanner {  PORTABLE POLICE RADIO ] It is not Our Responsibility 
to Explain the Law and Exemptions to ant Law Enforcement Officer But it is 
Our Butt to keep out of Jail etc.  Print out the Copy of the Indiana 
scanner Law give it to the Officer ,  If you are Exempt show them the 
Reason , Copy of Your Amateur Radio lic ? WHAT they are not the FCC They 
don't have the Right to Ask or see that . Remember Be polite and show them 
Anyway and any other info Like a Signed letter from The Local Police 
agency. or Anything that makes Us exempt .

Michigan on the other hand has a Scanner Permit ,  Free looks nice to Get 
it http://www.mpscs.com/com-022.pdf You don't have to be a Ham , be Brief 
this was started For all the Race Fans , Put down that reason, hey I 
Thought we in Indiana was the big race state ?

Indiana Scanner Law Print it Keep it with you   I"Am in No Way Anti Law 
Enforcement , being a retired Police Sgt,  as Responsible Scanner users we 
are The Eyes and Ears or the Community and should all work together,  Over 
many yrs involved in Law Enforcement  I'am aware of Many Times Being helped 
by them in many ways,  one Example I Was in a bad area at 3 in the Morning 
calling for assistance , But My battery was going low and I kept breaking 
up into the repeater , But Fortunately a Scanner listener was Listening to 
the Input Near by and called My Dispatcher, and I Got the help I needed and 
our Dept sent a Thank You Letter.  And this was issued after Sept 11 
Monitor our Scanners

The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth today suggested that the amateur community 
remain calm but ready. He invited amateurs monitoring any suspicious radio 
activity to
contact him via e-mail, and he will relay relevant information to the FCC 
duty team. "You never know," he said. He advised monitors to tape such 
radio traffic, if
possible.


                                                 Off The Soapbox , Enough 
said,  Enjoy Don KA9QJG

Indiana Scanner Law

Burns Indiana Statutes Annotated (1995)
1995 Supplement, p. 54

Offenses Against Public Administration
Interference With Governmental Operations
s. 35-44-3-12 -- Possession of police radios


   s. 35-44-3-12.  Possession of police radios.  -- (a) A person who
knowingly or intentionally:
     (1) Possesses a police radio;
     (2) Transmits over a frequency assigned for police emergency
     purposes; or
     (3) Possesses or uses a police radio:
       (A) While committing a crime;
       (B) To further the commission of a crime; or
       (C) To avoid detection by a law enforcement agency;
commits unlawful use of a police radio, a Class B misdemeanor.
   (b) Subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2) do not apply to:
     (1) A governmental entity;
     (2) A regularly employed law-enforcement officer;
     (3) A common carrier of persons for hire whose vehicles are used
     in emergency service;
     (4) A public service or utility company whose vehicles are used
     in emergency service;
     (5) A person who has written permission from the chief executive
     officer of a law enforcement agency to possess a police radio;
     (6) A person who holds an amateur radio license issued by the
     Federal Communications Commission if the person is not
     transmitting over a frequency assigned for police emergency
     purposes;
     (7) A person who uses a police radio only in the person's
     dwelling or place of business;
     (8) A person:
       (A) Who is regularly engaged in newsgathering activities;
       (B) Who is employed by a newspaper qualified to receive legal
       advertisements under IC 5-3-1, a wire service, or a licensed
       commercial or public radio or television station; and
       (C) Whose name is furnished by his employer to the chief
       executive officer of a law enforcement agency in the county in
       which the employer's principal office is located;
     (9) A person engaged in the business of manufacturing or selling
     police radios; or
     (10) A person who possesses or uses a police radio during the
     normal course of the person's lawful business.
   (c) As used in this section, "police radio" means a radio that is
capable of sending or receiving signals transmitted on frequencies
assigned by the Federal Communications Commission for police
emergency purposes and that:
   (1) Can be installed, maintained, or operated in a vehicle; or
   (2) Can be operated while it is being carried by an individual.
The term does not include a radio designed for use only in a
dwelling.  [IC 35-44-3-12, as added by Acts 1977, P.L. 342, s. 1;
P.L.162-1994, s. 1.]

                              ----------










   Amendments.  The 1994 amendment inserted the subsection (a)(1)
designation, deleted "portable" preceding "police radio" in
subsections (a)(1), (b)(5), (b)(7), and (b)(9), added subsections
(a)(2), (a)(3), and (b)(10), making related changes, substituted
"Subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2) do not" for "This section does not" in
the introductory language of subsection (b), added "if the person is
not transmitting over a frequency assigned for police emergency
purposes" in subsection (b)(6), substituted "As used in this section,
`police radio' means a radio capable of sending or receiving" for
"`Portable police radio' means a radio receiving set that is capable
of receiving" in section (c), and made stylistic changes.

  Effective Dates.  P.L.325-1994, s. 1.  July 1, 1994.