Oakland police to cut public off from live radio feeds

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Police Department plans to cut off the public from its live radio feeds.

The Bay Area News Group reported that OPD will soon only use its private, encrypted channels, which will not be accessible to the public.

For years, newsrooms and private citizens were able to monitor police scanners.

But police say that will now end in Oakland.

What they're saying:

In a statement sent to KTVU on Monday, the Oakland Police Department said it is "encrypting radio communications to protect the safety of both our community and our officers."

The change, according to the statement, "ensures that sensitive information remains secure and aligns with a 2020 California Department of Justice (DOJ) policy requiring the encryption of personally identifiable information transmitted over police radios to safeguard individual privacy. Encrypting our channels is a critical step in strengthening operational security and enhancing the safety of our first responders while continuing to support public safety."

The Bay Area News Group pointed out that the DOJ only suggested that encrypting radio traffic as a way to secure personal information kept in the database, but it also said that police can simply restrict certain private information while "allowing for radio traffic with the information necessary to provide public safety."

Bottom line: the DOJ did not require police to encrypt their radios.

Big picture view:

Several other Bay Area law enforcement agencies have recently made a similar move, including Antioch, San Jose, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Mountain View, San Francisco police departments as well as the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. 

Last week, the Bay Area News Group also reported that state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) was upset that another police department was moving to encrypt its radio traffic. 

Becker has repeatedly tried to pass legislation in recent years to significantly restrict law enforcement agencies’ ability to encrypt their communications, framing it as a key means to hold officers accountable for their actions.

In 2023, for example, Becker introduced a bill called the "Law Enforcement Communications Transparency Act," which would have restored the open access policy that had been in place since the 1920s.

"The ability to hear how officers talk to one another over the radio helps make police departments more accountable," Becker said at the time.  "On a practical level, it also makes it easier for the media to report on public safety activities such as accidents or shootings, so the public can be told about areas to avoid."