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Montgomery County police defend plan to encrypt radio traffic, stress MPIA access and regional parity
Summary
County police said full encryption of dispatch and patrol radio channels is necessary to protect victims and officer safety amid easy public access to scanner apps; staff said recordings will remain available through MPIA and public information channels and municipalities on the county system will be included at no cost.
Chief Mark Yamada and senior Montgomery County Police Department officials told the County Council’s public safety committee on July 7 that moving to full radio encryption is a necessary step to protect victims, officers and sensitive information.
“Moving towards radio encryption has become a necessity for law enforcement, not just regionally, but nationally,” Chief Mark Yamada said, framing the change as a response to new consumer apps and criminal tactics that let people monitor first-responder transmissions.
The department’s technical briefing explained how encryption works and why staff say it matters. “Radio encryption is securing our transmissions via a key across the department and…
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