Can a scanner hear encrypted police radio?

What you can still hear

• Fire and EMS. Many places encrypt police but leave fire and ambulance radio open. Several entries below say so.
• Some police dispatch. Some agencies encrypt only tactical or detective channels and keep main dispatch open.
• Delayed feeds. A few cities, like Chicago, post a delayed stream online instead.
• Nearby agencies. Encryption goes agency by agency. The sheriff or state police may still be open when the city is not.

How to tell if your police encrypted

A digital scanner shows it. Uniden's BCD325P2 manual says the screen shows "ENC" when a channel is "receiving encrypted voice." Whistler's TRX-1 guide says it "detects and masks encrypted voice audio," so you hear nothing instead of noise. If your scanner goes quiet on a busy channel, encryption is the likely reason. You can also check the list below.

Agencies that encrypted, with sources

We list 75 agencies: 42 encrypted, 15 partly encrypted, 0 that announced plans, 13 whose planned date passed with no report that it happened, and a few that delayed, reversed or stayed open. Every row links to a news story or agency notice we read, and every quote we relied on was found again on that page. This is not a complete list. No public national list exists.

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No agencies on our list match. That doesn't mean your police are open. Look up your county.

Questions people ask

Why do police encrypt?

Agencies usually say it protects officers and keeps personal details off the air. In California, a 2020 state Justice Department directive told agencies to protect personal and criminal-history data sent over the radio. Agencies could meet it by encrypting everything or by using a mixed system. See the state rules below.

Can I listen online instead?

Sometimes. Some agencies that encrypted offer a delayed public stream or post calls online. Several rows above say so under "What changed." An app can only play what a volunteer's scanner receives, so it can't hear encrypted channels either.

Which agencies stayed open?

Rows marked "Still open" or "Reversed" are agencies that publicly kept or brought back open radio. Most small towns and many sheriffs haven't encrypted at all. They just don't make the news.

State rules on encryption

• Colorado law on encrypted police radio (C.R.S. 24-6-502, from HB 21-1250). A law enforcement agency that encrypts all of its radio traffic must write a media access policy with Colorado news outlets. It covers news access to main dispatch channels with scanners or similar receivers. It does not ban encryption. Colorado Revised Statutes (via Public.Law), May 2025
• California DOJ 2020 CLETS confidentiality directive. A Department of Justice directive from October 2020 told agencies to protect personal and criminal-history data from CLETS, the state's police records network. Agencies could encrypt radio traffic entirely or use a policy or hybrid system. Deadline to comply or submit a plan was Dec. 31, 2020. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Jun 2021
• Wisconsin Office of Emergency Communications statewide encryption plan. A technical plan (version 1.1) for how agencies program encryption keys on public safety radios. It neither requires nor bans encryption. It is mandatory only for radios bought with state grant money that include encryption. Wisconsin Office of Emergency Communications, Oct 2025

Before you buy a scanner

Encryption doesn't make a scanner useless. Fire, EMS and many sheriffs and small towns are still open. Look up your county to see what radio it uses and whether any agency there is on this list. Then see the scanner that fits.