"No timeline exists for when police departments and sheriff's offices across Alameda and Contra Costa counties will end public access to their radio feeds, because they don't know why the system didn't work this week as planned, said David Swing, the head of the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority. The former Pleasanton police chief spoke during a board meeting Friday for the entity, adding that technicians planned to conduct tests in Martinez on a backup radio channel to try to root out the issue."
"The work comes two days after nearly ever law enforcement agency in the East Bay tried to fully encrypt their radio chatter, making it inaccessible to the broader public's ears for the first time in decades. The effort has garnered considerable pushback from police accountability advocates, First Amendment organizations, some local defense attorneys and even a Bay Area state senator. All of them have condemned the move as a blow to transparency and the public's ability to understand crime as it happens in their community, along with how police act when they respond to it."
"David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said he hoped the delay would prompt law enforcement agencies to reconsider the switch. The radio feeds provide really essential information to the public in real time, while helping keep them up to speed during natural disasters and other public safety crises. It's a real blow to transparency of government activity, said Snyder, adding that open radio traffic can help journalists tell the public the real story, not just the PR story presented by police leaders."
A technical glitch prevented dozens of East Bay law enforcement agencies from hiding radio communications, leaving public radio feeds accessible while the cause remains unknown. No timeline exists for when Alameda and Contra Costa county departments will end public access because technicians have yet to identify why planned encryption failed. Technicians planned tests in Martinez on a backup radio channel to investigate inconsistent issues, said the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority head. Nearly every agency attempted full encryption two days earlier. The encryption effort drew strong pushback from accountability advocates, First Amendment groups, local defense attorneys and a state senator, who warned the change would reduce transparency and hinder real-time public information during emergencies.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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