Snohomish County police scanners to go dark to the public on May 6
EVERETT — Police radio communications across Snohomish County will be encrypted starting May 6, cutting off public access to real-time scanner traffic, officials announced Tuesday at a press conference outside the new Snohomish County 911 headquarters.
In this context, encrypting means converting police radio communications into a secure digital format that cannot be accessed by the public using traditional scanners.
The change is part of a $72 million emergency radio system overhaul — years in the making — that officials say will improve coverage, safety and reliability for first responders across the county’s 2,200 square miles. The system replaces aging infrastructure described by officials as unreliable and outdated.
The change comes as emergency responders switch to a new P25 radio system, part of a five-year, countywide effort to modernize emergency communication infrastructure.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-county-police-scanners-to-go-dark-to-the-public-on-may-6/