About Is My City Encrypted?

Why I Built This

Police radio encryption is accelerating across the United States. RTDNA ranks it as the #1 threat to journalism today. When a department encrypts its radio, journalists lose real-time access to public safety information, community members can no longer monitor emergencies in their neighborhoods, and a critical layer of government accountability disappears.

I built Is My City Encrypted? because there was no easy way to check whether your local agencies had encrypted their radio. You had to dig through RadioReference forums, call departments, or simply find out the hard way when your scanner went silent. This tool pulls data from over 10,000 agencies across all 50 states and D.C. and puts the answer one search away.

The data is sourced from RadioReference.com and updated weekly via automated synchronization. It is free, open, and always will be.

Methodology

How Encryption Status Is Determined

Encryption status is determined by analyzing channel and talkgroup data from RadioReference.com. Each agency is classified into one of three categories:

• Encrypted — All channels and talkgroups for the agency use encryption (AES, DES, or similar). These transmissions cannot be monitored with standard scanners.
• Partially Encrypted — Some channels are encrypted while others remain in the clear. This is common for agencies that encrypt tactical channels while keeping dispatch open.
• Clear — No encrypted channels detected. All transmissions can be monitored with appropriate scanning equipment.

Encryption Score Calculation

The encryption score shown for each state is calculated as: ((fully encrypted agencies + partially encrypted agencies × 0.5) / total agencies) × 100. Fully encrypted agencies count at 100% and partially encrypted agencies count at 50%, reflecting that partial encryption still preserves some public access.

City vs. County Data

Some smaller cities do not have dedicated public safety agencies. In those cases, the tool shows the parent county's agencies and flags this with a notice. This ensures every location search returns useful results.

Data Source

All frequency and talkgroup data comes from RadioReference.com, the largest community-maintained database of radio communications in the United States. Data is updated weekly via SOAP API synchronization.

Coverage

The database covers all 50 US states and Washington, D.C., tracking over 10,000 public safety agencies including law enforcement, fire departments, and EMS services at the city, county, and state level. Federal agencies (FBI, DEA, etc.) operate on separate encrypted systems and are not included.

Report Incorrect Data

See something wrong? Encryption status can change as agencies upgrade their systems. If you know an agency's status is incorrect, please email [email protected] with the agency name, location, and what you believe the correct status should be.

License

The data on this site is available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license. You are free to share and adapt the data for non-commercial purposes with attribution.