For the past couple days, I’ve been listening to my local police chatter via a scanner app I downloaded for my iPad. It’s interesting! And gives you a much better idea of what they go through. Like I never realized how often cops are asked to do a welfare check on someone not answering their phone, then to hear DOA when they get there. Ugh! We owe them more gratitude than we even know.
Anyway…I’ve noticed there’s some personal information occasionally broadcasted about the victims and perps. DL numbers, addresses, physical descriptions, our cars, elderly living alone, single mom, drugs, drunk, no one home, gate codes, alarms or dogs, etc.
So since the general public can listen, why does this not violate some FCC regs or something? I wounder if anyone has ever used it to plan a crime? It would be a lot of trouble, but is possible. And doesn’t it create a risk of drawing gawkers to the scene to get in the way sometimes? I realize police reprts become public information later. But why is this not kept internal to the PD, at least while it’s happening live?
I’m far more worried about this than the NSA saving some phone calls from my past. Not that I’m freaking out about either really… Just curious why no one else is.
The number of people with police scanners is quite low so its not that big a problem. We are aware of such problems and do keep as much off the air as possible. When possible cell phones are used. Or information is sent over the computer. But sometimes time and circumstances dictate that personal or confidential information is sent over the air. It happens a lot less often than it once did because of technology. Our department recently went to a radio system that is encrypted so scanners can not pick it up. Not all departments can afford that.
Back in the day after police scanners started being sold to the general public some localities did outright prohibit the use of mobile, 12V ‘walkie-talkie’ style scanners, at least using one outside your home (there were larger, 120V ‘base station’-type units and they were also cheaper). The FCC dictates that you cannot ban anyone from being able to **receive **any particular frequency, just transmitting is regulated. This is also the argument people give that you can’t make radar detectors illegal, as they’re simply radio receivers (though any more they have to be *laser *detectors as well).
Anyway, I don’t think mobile scanner use can be prohibited in general anymore. However, if you get caught using one during the commission of a crime (burglary, robbery etc.) that can be considered illegal and be another thing you will be charged with.
Funny thing I experienced once: I was still living at home and my car was registered in my mom’s name. Me & a friend were out late one night and stopped at a convenience store in a ‘rough’ part of town. There was something going on as there were a number of police cars there. I just parked, my friend went in & bought something and we left.
When I got home my mom immediately asked what had happened and if I was in any trouble. I was like Who? What? Where? How? Does she have my car bugged or something?! Turns out the cops ran the plates of everyone in the parking lot, and since the car was registered to her her name was mentioned. A friend of my mom’s had a police scanner and when she heard her name she called her!
The regional 911 dispatch center in my area offers a daily press log of all calls for the police in two small towns, fire departments, and emergency responders. Along with the officer’s name, agency, address of incident and a short description of the incident, and sometimes names.
I read this every morning. Up until a few years ago the report also listed the names and address’ of people involved. That is how I learned that my son had been put through a field sobriety test a few years ago. Mostly the names are omitted now but you can still learn quite a bit.
If I see an arrest that interests me I can then go to the county web site and look at the daily jail roster and see everyone who is in jail, when they arrived, charges, etc. Lots of information people would assume to be private is open on the internet if you know where to look.
Just given the address I can see who the owners are, property lines, build date, assessed value, tax liens, etc., by looking it up on the county tax portion of their site.
Personal information is an anachronism, you really don’t have any.
A similar thing: pagers may be ancient but they are still in widespread use in hospitals. The information is broadcast in cleartext, often with some very private details about the patients. It takes about $20 in equipment to receive the messages.