San Francisco finds an alternative to full encryption of police radios
Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 7:49 pm
San Francisco finds an alternative to full encryption of police radios
The San Francisco Police Department plans to partially encrypt its radio transmissions when it moves to a digital system sometime after July 1, a police spokesman told the Post on Friday (May 21).
Dispatchers will use certain public channels to send officers to an incident, such as asking units to respond to 123 Main St. for a report of a robbery, according to SFPD spokesman Sgt. Michael Andraychak. Members of the public or the media will be able to hear those transmissions over a police scanner.
After units are dispatched, radio communications regarding the incident will be encrypted and the public won’t be able to listen in, Andraychak said.
But at the conclusion of the incident, dispatchers will state on an unencrypted channel what the outcome was, for example, officers took a report or made an arrest.
Officers will use another set of channels to check a person’s driver’s license information or criminal history, Andraychak said. Those channels will be encrypted.
“It’s sort of striking a balance,” Andraychak said of the new system.
https://padailypost.com/2021/05/24/san- ... ice-radios
Mayor says that encrypting police radio signals was a mistake
January 11, 2021
https://padailypost.com/2021/01/11/mayo ... a-mistake/
The San Francisco Police Department plans to partially encrypt its radio transmissions when it moves to a digital system sometime after July 1, a police spokesman told the Post on Friday (May 21).
Dispatchers will use certain public channels to send officers to an incident, such as asking units to respond to 123 Main St. for a report of a robbery, according to SFPD spokesman Sgt. Michael Andraychak. Members of the public or the media will be able to hear those transmissions over a police scanner.
After units are dispatched, radio communications regarding the incident will be encrypted and the public won’t be able to listen in, Andraychak said.
But at the conclusion of the incident, dispatchers will state on an unencrypted channel what the outcome was, for example, officers took a report or made an arrest.
Officers will use another set of channels to check a person’s driver’s license information or criminal history, Andraychak said. Those channels will be encrypted.
“It’s sort of striking a balance,” Andraychak said of the new system.
https://padailypost.com/2021/05/24/san- ... ice-radios
Mayor says that encrypting police radio signals was a mistake
January 11, 2021
https://padailypost.com/2021/01/11/mayo ... a-mistake/