is it legal to talk about what I heard on the scanner?
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 8:26 pm
We all know a lot of interesting things are heard on the airwaves but is it legal to talk about the details, especially here in this public forum?
The California penal code (Section 636.5) makes it a crime to divulge any intercepted transmission to anyone known to be a suspect or to use intercepted transmissions to aid in the commission of a crime. It's a misdemeanor.
Here is the complete text of that section:
636.5. Any person not authorized by the sender, who intercepts any
public safety radio service communication, by use of a scanner or any
other means, for the purpose of using that communication to assist
in the commission of a criminal offense or to avoid or escape arrest,
trial, conviction, or punishment or who divulges to any person he or
she knows to be a suspect in the commission of any criminal offense,
the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect or meaning of
that communication concerning the offense with the intent that the
suspect may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction, or
punishment is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution of any person
under Section 31 or 32.
As used in this section, "public safety radio service
communication" means a communication authorized by the Federal
Communications Commission to be transmitted by a station in the
public safety radio service.
