Los Altos PD to encrypt radio system
Written by Eric He
The Los Altos Police Department plans to begin encrypting its police radio communications in March, a decision that will restrict how the public and media can monitor ongoing law enforcement activity in their neighborhoods.
In a memo to the Los Altos City Council dated Jan. 19, Police Chief Andy Galea wrote that the department was complying with a mandate from the state’s Department of Justice sent last October to law enforcement agencies, ordering that personal information such as a person’s name or driver’s license number no longer be broadcast over police scanners. The memo said the encryption requirement would prevent identity theft and give privacy to crime victims.