Is My City Encrypted?

If your city shows as encrypted, it means the local public safety agencies (police, fire, and EMS) use AES or DES encryption on their radio channels. Standard scanners, SDR equipment, and scanner apps cannot decode these transmissions — police dispatch, fire/EMS, and tactical channels are all hidden from public monitoring. This affects journalists who rely on scanner traffic for breaking news, community members who monitor emergencies in their neighborhoods, and government transparency advocates. Approximately 788 agencies across the US are fully encrypted, with another 5,193 using partial encryption on some channels.

Agencies cite several reasons for encrypting their radio communications. The most common is officer safety — preventing suspects from monitoring police movements during active incidents. Agencies also encrypt to protect sensitive information such as undercover operations, victim identities, and informant details. Many departments point to federal CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) security requirements for criminal justice data shared over radio. Critics, including the RTDNA and the Society of Professional Journalists, argue that encryption eliminates a critical layer of government accountability and hinders breaking news coverage.

Each agency is classified by analyzing its channel and talkgroup data from RadioReference.com, the largest community-maintained radio communications database in the US. Encrypted means all channels and talkgroups use encryption protocols like AES-256 or DES. Partially encrypted means some channels are encrypted while others remain in the clear — this is common for agencies that encrypt tactical channels (SWAT, narcotics) while keeping general dispatch open. Clear means no encrypted channels were detected. Data is synchronized weekly via the RadioReference SOAP API, covering over 41,000 agencies across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Learn more about our methodology.

Yes, police radio encryption is legal in the United States. No federal law requires public safety agencies to keep their radio communications unencrypted — the decision is made at the agency or jurisdiction level. However, the issue is gaining legislative attention. Several states including Florida, Colorado, and Ohio have introduced or passed legislation requiring agencies to maintain some level of public access to radio communications. Press freedom organizations like the RTDNA and the Society of Professional Journalists have actively advocated against full encryption.

All frequency and talkgroup data is sourced from RadioReference.com, the largest community-maintained radio communications database in the United States. RadioReference maintains a database of radio frequencies, talkgroups, and system information for public safety agencies across all 50 states, contributed and verified by a large community of radio enthusiasts and professionals. Is My City Encrypted? synchronizes data weekly via the RadioReference SOAP API, pulling the latest encryption configurations for over 41,000 tracked agencies. Learn more about our methodology.

No. Is My City Encrypted? focuses exclusively on state and local public safety agencies — police departments, sheriff's offices, fire departments, and EMS services. Federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, ATF, and US Marshals operate on separate encrypted radio systems (typically using the Project 25 standard) and are not included in the current dataset. The tool tracks over 41,000 state and local agencies across all 50 US states and Washington, D.C., which represents the vast majority of public safety communications that the general public and media might monitor.