Palo Alto Online
By Gennady Sheyner
The Palo Alto Police Department, which moved abruptly in January 2021 to fully encrypt its radio communications, is preparing to reverse the controversial policy, acting Chief Andrew Binder announced Thursday.
Binder, whose permanent appointment to the police chief position is scheduled to take place this Monday, said he plans to make the department's primary dispatch channel unencrypted in the coming weeks. The new policy providing real-time radio access to police communications would take effect no later than Sept. 1, according to Binder.
"The change in operations furthers three critical priorities including safeguarding personal identifying information and officer safety, increasing public awareness of police activities and continuing seamless interaction with our regional law enforcement partners," Binder said in a statement.
The Police Department is one of about 120 law enforcement agencies across the state that had fully encrypted their radio communications as of this spring, ostensibly in response to an October 2020 directive from the state Department of Justice that ordered them to protect personally identifiable information such as driver's license numbers and criminal backgrounds...
The topic of police radio encryption has become increasingly urgent across the state over the past year as more law enforcement agencies have removed public and media access from radio transmissions. A state bill that is currently moving through the Legislature would require all law enforcement agencies to develop alternatives to full encryption by 2024, which may involve giving access to individuals to an online stream of radio communication. Authored by state Sen. Josh Becker, Senate Bill 1000 cleared the state Senate in May and is now in the hands of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.