We don't want you to listen in on what we are doing!
Did you know, Fort Wayne, including all of Allen county has encrypted ALL their radio communications? The process began in 2014 as part of a Dept of Homeland Security mandate.
That's right; your right to know what is happening in your neighborhood by listening to a scanner is gone!
So what's the big deal?
Below is a short list of radio communications that Fort Wayne/Allen County don't want you to hear.
ALL Police city & county
State Police
Fire Dept.
Housing Authority
Ambulances
ALL medical runs
Animal care & Control
Fort Wayne Parking Control
Police dept officials will argue that with the internet, criminals can hear what is happening, thereby using it as a tool to thwart detection & capture.
Police also cite officer safety.
..or; personal information on the airwaves should be private.
This is, without mincing words..BULLSHIT!
Law enforcement nationwide has for years, possessed capability to switch to a secure channel for sensitive communications. (i.e) Warrant service, SWAT operations etc...)
Even their cell phones are secure against unauthorized eavesdropping.
Yes, law enforcement has need to have secure communications at times...but the dog catcher!??? Parking control? Fire Dept?
Why should you be concerned?
Let me first say I support law enforcement and the difficult job they do every day.
That said, in our post 9-1-1 life in the United States, we have seen an extreme over reach of federal, state and local laws. Invasions of privacy seem to be the norm.
Let's say a lunatic with a gun is running around in your neighborhood.
Is this not something you would like to be aware of?...or do you want to wait until someone calls the police to report it? Police response times are NOT instantaneous! It may be several MINUTES before they arrive.
How about that gas leak three houses down from you?
You will wait until someone gets around to calling you from the fire dept, wait until you hear the sirens or worse, the gas leak explodes!
The public has a right to know what is happening in their neighborhoods.
AMBER alerts are issued to the public to assist in finding missing or kidnapped children, but that maniac loose in your neighborhood is no longer your business!
The Politics
Following 9-1-1, a new dept was created, The Dept of Homeland Security.
Tons of your tax dollars being spent on this *new* law enforcement entity.
The DHS mandated encryption for ALL law enforcement agencies. To make it easy, the federal government provided hundreds of millions of dollars to agencies who could never afford such technology. (small cities, municipalities etc...)
Why bite the hand that feeds you; right?
All this "so called" free money flowing into our law enforcement agencies.
Of course it is easy to justify this *new & improved* technology, and have the ability to keep ALL your radio communications secret!
With the "over the top" militarization of police depts "federal tax money" and now secret communications. we should be not only concerned, but worried.
None of this should concern those who place 100% trust in those who are sworn to "uphold the law"...Notice I did NOT say "Protect".
A common misconception is that police are sworn to "Protect & Serve"..This has, by the U.S Supreme Courts interpretation been shown NOT to be the case. (see: Warren v. District of Columbia)
The police have no legal duty to protect you as they are REACTIVE, not Pro-active.
Dictators operate secretly with ZERO transparency.
There is absolutely no LOGICAL reason Fort Wayne/Allen County need to be 100% encrypted.
Not Good!
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