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LOCAL MEDIA'S ACCESS TO BREAKING NEWS THREATENED BY ENCRYPTED POLICE RADIOS

By J.W. August, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo by Robert Gehr

April 3, 2022 (San Diego) - For editors and reporters, access to the police scanner is a critical — and immediate — news source when covering breaking news, be it a massive fire raging through a community or rescue workers trying find a child swept away in a creek.

That access is being threatened in California now that dozens of law enforcement agencies, including the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, have made the decision to fully encrypt their communications, based on a directive from the agency whose statewide computer network provides criminal histories, driver records and other public safety information.

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