In my reply (#2) - I failed to mention the Anchorage PD did have/use encrypted comms when dealing with drug busts. You knew something was going on when one of the (then analog) channels went twitchy with encrypted audio. In this case (Alaska) the Dept of Defense massively overbuild the AKLMR P-25 (Motorola) system and invited all the PS agencies to use the system. This was in the days of Ted Stevens, the godfather of pork for AK.
Back in the mid 90's when MDT was a new thing (and releatively easy to monitor), there were many questionable messages between officers. I wonder who provided the news tip? https://web.archive.org/web/20210516085932/https://www.qsl.net/kb9mwr/files/gb-mdt.txt I swear the local law enforement learned from the LAPD just a few years earlier (remember the comment ""I haven't beaten anyone this bad in a long time." --Officer Laurence Powell (MDT message from Powell to another officer).. You can bet good money that sort of thing is even more common placed that is was then.
Most cops are good cops. Most cops are performing their duties for a higher purpose. Most cops take their oath of honor seriously. But, given today's environment, some cops break under the pressure--especially in some of the bigger cities and what's going on in some of the bigger cities. All I can say is they must be treated with a kind, understanding heart, an understanding of what broke them and a corrective action that's serious enough to warn other cops, but a corrective action that leans towards leniency for the bad cop. Cops are given a special privilege of power and authority in society. A *necessary* privilege of power and authority. And it's human nature to be tempted to abuse it. Cops are human. Humans are flawed. It happens. I can understand how some cops go way beyond what's necessary. But then again, they're dealing with some people (Both! Their elected leaders who come and go and their perps who come and go!) who go beyond what's necessary, too. Maybe it IS getting worse these days.
Some good points but IMO misses a huge contributing factor. In recent years there has been a lessening of the qualifications and requirements for becoming a law enforcement officer. When you select less than the very best for the job you receive less than the best job performance.
42 years as a cop, 15 of those as a police chief and still a very interested observer of my former profession. I agree with you that reduced qualifications for entry into law enforcement is a contributing factor to the problems which beset the profession today. And it is getting worse due to the inability of agencies, particularly large urban area departments, to recruit enough just to replace those who are retiring or otherwise leaving law enforcement for a variety of reasons. Past criminal activity which once precluded being hired as a cop is now accepted. In several states, and the number will soon increase, U S citizenship is no longer a requirement. In some urban areas like Los Angeles, which I am very familiar with, former street gang members now wear a badge and gun and have not severed their gang ties. In that same region, and likely others, law enforcement has been intentionally infiltrated by "hidden" members of drug cartels for the sole purpose of giving the cartels "heads up" regarding police activities. And the lack of true leadership and in its place a "woke mentality" is doing serious damage to a profession that took decades to achieve what it once was, but no longer is. But the most damaging change in the profession has been a shift from objectivity and impartiality to the politicization of its focus. Looking at federal law enforcement (FBI, IRS, ATF, etc) it is hard to escape that conclusion.
Yup, same thing happening in the military. Case in point: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/2-...s-tied-national-security-china-ap-2023-08-03/ Petty Officers Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei. I don't blame them. I blame who ever did their background checks and who ever granted them access to classified information.
My younger sister worked as a street cop for over a decade. She finally quit - not because of the gang-bangers (she worked for the Tucson PD) but because of the other cops. She enjoyed the work, but not most of her co-workers.
No, it is not as simple as Motorola ADP Decryption... this is encryption like DIA/NSA/DoD. Moto, Kenwood, Tait, etc. are all OTAP, over the air programming and OTAR, over the air rekeying (encryption key)... literally, a keyboard stroke - a burst of data - and everyone has the same key or new pair (input/output DCS/PL/NAC) - in seconds. Think that is cool? Look at Motorola SmartConnect or Tetra. That'll blow some minds in the hammy world.
Just like in ANY other profession (quite all, actually). When you're just a tad clever than the rest of your colleagues, you're poised to suffer every single day. How about in other countries, e.g. France? Oliver
I think that some of you folks don't understand how it works. Just look at the PA OpenSky network. The last year it operated, it cost the state of PA $500 Million dollars just to maintain it. If you read the bio - that was the reason why one tower manufacturer had to declare bankruptcy, They got the contract to put up the towers to service the system and it took 4 times more tower than the bid. To make the system work, they had to put a transmitter on a telephone pole every 2 - 3 miles. They never did get it to work everywhere.. Potter County never went digital - too many mountains. BUT, with the provided cell phones linked to the computer in the car, you had the ability to call anyone anywhere. The dispatch was no longer random but specific - one dispatch for one car or one group of cars. If you wanted the public help they could shut off the open sky and let everyone listen. I know they did that when they were searching for people or police chases. They took on local bushiness to supplement the cost of the system, school buses, ATA, PennDot, PGC etc... Now it is P-25, encrypted. You can listen to PennDot if you have the right frequencies and codes in your scanner, but Radio Reference isn't even close for Jefferson County PSP... I did receive some PennDot with the scanner when I was in Venango County, but it wasn't worth my while to report the error to Radio Reference. Some Pennsylvania State Game Commission is unencrypted, mostly just the officer logging in and out for shift change or when they go deep into the woods where there is no service. The dispatch is done on the computer in the car, not over the radio. Very little voice chatter., My sister lives in Floral Park, just across the line from Queens NY and if you need the police, there is about a 3 hour wait from the time you call till someone arrives. There is no physical requirement to be a police officer in New York City, so most of them are obese, cannot run, cannot function outside of riding around in the police car eating doughnuts!
You made good and salient points, until you made the gross stereotype. Ignorant. If it were a joke, IMO, you should have added an emoji.
maybe in your part of town but not in nyc! https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/careers/police-officers/po-hiring.page
Don't you love how people just make stuff up out of thin air, instead of you know, checking out the facts?
