YPD LIVE SCANNER

[JoyceFarrell]

Where I live, it is as quiet as a graveyard at Midnight. The only time I hear gun shots is on the 4th of July and New Years.

[jay]

I tend to want to know the nature of a police response to my neighborhood.  Are they there to take a report or are they responding to criminal activity in progress?  If it is criminal activity in progress, some neighbors spread the word quickly to other neighbors via email and neighborhood group texting.

[Nicholas Serra]

I think several of the situations you mentioned are reasons to keep it open. But I hear what you're saying. My main point here is that various neighborhoods use it for neighborhood watch and information. Wick Park and Rocky Ridge for sure. Unsure of which others. I have already voiced my opinion to the mayor and 4th ward. I'll be escalating soon.

[JoyceFarrell]

You missed the point. In the past, there was no problem with the public listening to every single police call, but times have changed.


Police being killed in the line of duty
Police Departments being charged with police brutality
Drug gangs
Riots
Police officers shooting civilians


Sure, I would like to be able to hear every single word that every Youngstown Police Officer says. I would also like to have access to view what the camera's in the cars and on the officers vest 100% of the time, but how is that going to make me or my neighbors safer?


I would like to trust the Police to do their job without being able to listen to every word they utter.


By listening to a scanner am I going to be able to stop a crime?


Am I going to make my neighborhood safer?


OK so you and a lot of others are opposed to any method that would block the public from hearing all the police calls, and it's up to you to make a good case to City Council, so are you going to ask to speak on this issue?

[Nicholas Serra]

I think the switch to digital will add another layer of security to the system. But it's specifically the encryption i'm against.

[Nicholas Serra]

That's not really how "legality" works though. The constitution doesn't say i'm allowed or not allowed to do jumping jacks in my front yard, but it's obviously legal. As far as state law, there is nothing on the books about listening to police radio, therefore it is legal in the state. Local laws can override this, but there's nothing in Youngstown.

[JoyceFarrell]

From what I understand, the Police have always been opposed to scanners in the hands of the public. That plus the age of the equipment and the cost of replacinf it and the fact that other communities in the county have gone to encription gave the Chief the excuse he needed.


The big question is: Is there proof that the general public has a right to hear police calls?


Going back to as early as the 1930's home radios were equipped with the ability to receive Police Calls, but by the 1950's this feature was removed as police radio was moved to different frequencies within the Short Wave bands, and then companies such as Hallacrafter started building radios that were exclusively receiving Police, Fire, Weather and Aircrafft communications, andlater Regency started producing Police radios that were crystal equipped. Most newspapers as well as Radio and TV stations had these radios in their news rooms. Then in the  1980's came the programmable scanners that allowed users to scan a number of different stations automatically.


Today scanners have been incresed in their ability to scan many different frequencies, and by going to Google the user can get a list of all the frequencies = Police - Fire - Weather - Air Traffic - Federal agencies including the FBI and ATF.


It was at this point that law enforcement realized that something must be done to shut off "Police Calls" to the general public. The bottom line is that the general public has no Constitutional right to hear Police Calls.

[Nicholas Serra]

Totally agree. They have the option to broadcast encrypted (private) for situations when they need to say socials or victim info. They currently do this via phone or laptop. But all other communications can and should stay in the clear.

[JoyceFarrell]

I can see the Chief's point given the number of murders, the drug problem, and the need to keep certain private. In the past, when an officer needed to give or get private info  he either had to go to channel 3, or use an inboard laptop. Do neighborhood leaders need private information such as Social Security numbers, private phone number and the like?

[Nicholas Serra]

Or our neighborhood groups and leaders. Very against this encryption and beginning a campaign against it. Hopefully we can have public input.

[JoyceFarrell]

The stations and the newspaper will have the new monitors. Those special radios just will not be available to the general public.

[jay]

Now none of us will know what is happening when several police cars are dispatched to a neighborhood.

Also, how will the media learn about and cover police events?

[Nicholas Serra]

All of these feeds will go down when youngstown decides to encrypt their new radio system.

[Nicholas Serra]

I just set up a new YPD feed. Doug's hasn't been right for a long time. http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/24727/web

[Towntalk]

Can someone put this link to a place where it will always show?