Minneapolis police to encrypt radio calls
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Minneapolis police will go silent on radio scanners next week as the department and 911 dispatchers move to encrypted communications.
Why it matters: The May 1 move will make it harder to track police operations in real time, which public transparency advocates say is a step in the wrong direction for a department seeking to rebuild trust in the community.
The big picture: Times have changed from decades ago, when following 911 dispatch required specialized equipment. Now, anyone can listen on an app — a sea change that's already prompted many departments in Minnesota and nationally to encrypt their radio transmissions.
- Federal policy also mandates the move, which Minneapolis public safety officials argue is necessary to keep officers safe and protect the private information of people they encounter.
State of play: Minneapolis has launched a public online dashboard that maps emergency calls, but with a 30-minute delay.
- The dashboard will allow people to track emergency responses while stripping names, birthdates, addresses, driver's license numbers and other sensitive data.
What they're saying: "It's a different kind of transparency," Minneapolis 911 director Joni Hodne told Axios. "There's a lot that has been aired out over the channels for years that really shouldn't be available unredacted to the public."
The other side: Reporters have used police scanner audio for years to cover developing events and fact-check official accounts of critical incidents.
- With encryption, "the media will be hamstrung in bringing important information about public safety to people in a timely manner," Leita Walker, a media attorney at Ballard Spahr LLP, told the Star Tribune.
The intrigue: Some police departments, including Chicago, have gone encrypted but continue to stream police radio transmissions on a time delay to minimize the potential for tipping off a suspect.
- Hodne said Minneapolis lacks the staffing or technology to censor out private information on such a stream, as federal guidelines would require.
Threat level: City officials have provided no evidence that overheard radio communications have ever foiled an operation, but a handful of incidents have highlighted the risks to officers.
- A livestreamer following an MPD manhunt on the scanner arrived to a scene before officers in 2023, where police hoped to apprehend a suspect.
- On another occasion, scanner audio recordings fueled unfounded rumors that a college student had been abducted, city officials say.
Context: Minneapolis joins Rochester, Edina and St. Louis Park, as well as the sheriff's departments in Hennepin, Dakota, Scott and Carver counties in using encrypted communications.
- Nationwide, New York City, San Francisco, Denver and Baltimore have also already made the switch.