OPD's decision to encrypt its radio feed takes away a crucial reporting tool

"For decades, the Oakland Police Department's radio communications were open for anyone to listen to. All that was required was a piece of off-the-shelf radio equipment, a scanner. And for years, the popular website Broadcastify.com livestreamed OPD's radio transmissions (and hundreds of other public safety agency feeds), and offered an archive of recordings. Tuning in, the public could listen in real time as officers and dispatchers handled welfare checks, shootings, car crashes, missing persons, downed power lines, robberies - any incident called into 911."

"Listening to police scanners has been a staple of newsroom activity since police radios were invented. Reporters tune in to get a sense of how their city's police department is operating or to cover emergencies like fires, earthquakes, or mass shootings and major events like protests and parades. That's why many journalists are concerned about OPD's decision to encrypt its radio communications. As of 4 a.m. this morning, the department's radio feed has been hidden from the public."

"In 2020, Xavier Becerra, then California's attorney general, issued a memo to police departments telling them they needed to take steps to make sure that sensitive information drawn from law enforcement databases, as well as personal information about crime victims, suspects, and others, wasn't broadcast over police radios. Some departments like the California Highway Patrol and Palo Alto police responded by keeping their dispatch and patrol channels open to the public while directing officers to use special encrypted channels,"

For decades, Oakland Police Department radio communications were publicly accessible with scanners, and Broadcastify livestreamed OPD transmissions and archived recordings. The public could listen in real time as officers and dispatchers handled welfare checks, shootings, crashes, missing persons, and other 911 incidents. Reporters routinely monitored scanners to track department operations and cover emergencies and major events. In 2020, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued guidance urging agencies to prevent sensitive law-enforcement and personal information from being broadcast. Some agencies preserved public channels while using encrypted lines for sensitive traffic; others encrypted all channels. Oakland joined agencies that encrypted systems and hid the radio feed from the public.

Read at The Oaklandside