"Scanner encryption, the process of shifting officers and dispatch communication to a private channel, will align the city's police department with other law enforcement offices in the East Bay that began encrypting their feeds in October. Berkeley's decision to fully encrypt has been influenced by multiple factors. A 2020 memo by former Attorney General Xavier Becerra called on agencies to protect peoples' sensitive identifiable information like their names, addresses, birthdates and social security numbers from scanner traffic that was available to the public."
"As a compromise, the department has developed a real-time call log that will display information from the Computer-Aided Dispatch system including the date and time of the call, incident number, call type, source of call, priority level and general location of the incident. That log will be updated with a 10-minute delay and a 10-minute refresh. Some incident information can also still be heard through the fire department's radio feed which will remain unencrypted."
Berkeley police scanners will be encrypted beginning Thursday, shifting officers' and dispatch communication to a private channel. The change aligns Berkeley with other East Bay law enforcement agencies that encrypted feeds in October. A 2020 memo from the former attorney general urged protection of sensitive identifiable information such as names, addresses, birthdates and social security numbers from public scanner traffic. The Berkeley Police Department cited low dispatch staffing and safety concerns, saying public feeds have endangered officers and enabled suspects to attempt to flee. The department will provide a delayed real-time call log and share updates via Nixle and social media.
Read at The Mercury News
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