Pennsylvania Department Opens Debate on Radio Encryption on Facebook

The Wilkes-Barre Township (PA) Police Department presented its citizens with a social media inquiry to provide their input into the question of whether or not some or all of the agency's radio traffic should be encrypted.

The agency said on Facebook , "The deployment of the Luzerne County 9-1-1 new radio system is quickly approaching. As many of you probably have heard by now, there is planning for all police radio transmissions to become encrypted which would prohibit those with scanners from listening to police radio broadcasts. Should police agencies be given the option to be encrypted or not (fire and ems do not appear to be encrypted at this time), we’d like to gather your input on which option we should show support towards."

The agency instructed citizens to use the "like" button's various options (thumbs up, heart, laughter, excitement, sad, and angry) to vote on their feelings toward silencing police scanners in their jurisdiction.

Many citizens still want to listen in on police radio traffic, but a great deal of people who participated in the informal poll said they appreciate the encryption of certain private information such as names, dates of birth and other personal data frequently transmitted between officers and dispatchers.