DEL.ICIO.USGwinnett’s emergency dispatches enter digital age
Encrypted system has improved clarity, but scanner enthusiasts can’t listen in anymore
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The recent switchover to a digitally encrypted emergency dispatch system in Gwinnett County has drawn a veil of secrecy around police communications even as it has made transmissions clearer and more secure.
The $35 million Motorola P25 digital 911 system was paid for by the voter-approved penny sales tax.
Static and interference typical on the old analog system have been virtually eliminated since the switchover Monday, said Angie Conley, the Gwinnett 911 center’s communications manager.
“It’s a whole lot quieter,” Conley said. “It’s like officers are sitting in the room with you.”
Problems with some dead zones have also disappeared, Conley said. Previously, the areas near the Chattahoochee River in Peachtree Corners and behind Lanier Mountain in Centerville were notorious for having bad or dropped transmissions.
The department opted to encrypt the system as an added safety feature for officers, said Gwinnett Police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman.
“Clearly we don’t want to give away our advantage to someone who is going to break the law,” Spellman said. “The safety of officers is paramount.”
Yet the encryption doesn’t sit well with some police scanner hobbyists.
Gordon Edwards, a Dacula resident, operates a nationwide website called ScanAmerica.us where people can listen to streaming audio of police and fire dispatches in their area. Edwards said users have been posting complaints and e-mailing him directly with their gripes.
“Most people have been very disappointed and going into withdrawal symptoms since they can’t listen anymore,” Edwards said. “People are used to listening when they want to find out what’s going on in their area.”
Edwards said ordinary citizens can be an extra set of eyes and ears for police, especially when officers post a lookout for suspicious cars or people. Edwards said Cobb County has a digital emergency dispatch system that they do not encrypt, except for SWAT team and special operations communications.
Cobb County police officials did not return a request for comment.
DeKalb County also plans to transition to a digital operation in the future that will not be encrypted, said DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish.
Edwards questioned whether the encryption in Gwinnett is really for safety or secrecy, noting that “there is a little bit of distrust there.” He noted that even with the old analog system, there were certain channels that the public could not overhear that officers used when they needed additional security.
Ry Alford, a Lawrenceville resident and graduate of the Gwinnett County Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy, said he used to listen to a police scanner to increase his awareness of what was happening in his community. Alford said officer safety trumps his desire to listen, but he still wondered if there was a way to provide access to police communications for a group of “trusted citizens” who would submit to a background check.
Spellman said providing access to certain citizens or media is “not an option.” But she emphasized that the department isn’t trying to shut people out.
“Anyone that has any inquiries about what happened or what occurred, we are more than happy to provide that information,” Spellman said.
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Comments
By Fred
May 21, 2009 10:25 AM | Link to this
Oh, Now I see they don't post naughty words on this. That's why you spelled dumb *** like dumb as. Sorry Ralph, You really are the smartest guy in the world. My bad.
By Fred
May 21, 2009 10:14 AM | Link to this
Hey Ralph! You mispelled dumb ***. Dumb ***!
Quote:(PS you misspelled 'genious'. Get a spell checker before others judge to be a dumb as)You also left out the word YOU. Since we are grading people. If you were as educated as you say you are you would know that only idiots have to tell people they are educated. Get off your ego trip! *** wipe.
By Ralph
Nov 25, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this
Gee "Citizen, why would I be concerned with Scannerbuff's spelling? He didn't call me names. People like yourself, who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
I fail to see the 40-50% of all highway deaths are caused by speeding. Your lack of reading comprehension skills is to put it bluntly, awful. I don't know if it is reality or the fact that you can't deal with an honest rebuttal. Are Gwinnett, Fulton and DeKalb counties at the forefront in speeding fatalities. I would think that they were if for no other reason than than are the most populous counties. In addition, the interstate traffic in these counties dwarfs other counties in Georgia. Where would a reasonable person expect them to be, last?
I understand that you are confused. You can't keep track of what I actually said, what you think I said and what you want me to say. It's just that comprehension problem you have.
I said nothing about speed limits being set too high. I said there is a tremendous difference between speeding and exceeding the posted speed limit. I know what the law recognizes, that was a straw man you constructed. Again, deal with what I said, not what you want me to say.
I gave you a history lesson because it is obvious that your education has limited your knowledge in some areas. Perhaps you have a specialized degree and were not required to take courses that were considered 'not in your field'.
You don't have any honesty, 'Citizen'. You are just a common garden variety instigator.
Your educated buddy,
Ralph
PS you misspelled 'genious'. Get a spell checker before others judge to be a dumb as
By Concerned Citizen
Nov 24, 2008 10:03 PM | Link to this
RALPH,
Scannerbuff spelled "professsional." Are you going to scold him too?
Scannerbuff,
Please refer to the dressing-down I got from Ralph about my spelling. I don't want to see that happen to you. I got really sad and almost cried.
By Concerned Citizen
Nov 24, 2008 9:58 PM | Link to this
ScannerBuff,
Thanks for letting me know how to be a more well informed officer. BUT I'm not a cop. I think you should take your own advice because I have never said I was an officer.
I remember your tractor-trailer driver story. That was about 10 years ago on I-85 and it had nothing to do with a scannergeek. It was a truck driver who happened to see the cop was having issues and stopped to assist. I think the truck driver actually hit the bad guy with a flashlight. Maybe you should do your research, because I do. Scannergeeks are like politicians: they try to take credit for other peoples good actions.
Nice try though. I can only relate to specific facts. I will not accept anything else that is not backed up by evidence or enough information for me to research on my own.
By Concerned Citizen
Nov 24, 2008 9:48 PM | Link to this
I really don't care enough about this issue to do a spellcheck. I didn't know I was being graded. It appears you understood what I was writing.
I think my original figure of 98% of the public doesn't care is low. It think it's closer to 99.5%. I'll use this forum as an example. I see about 6 or 7 losers griping about not being able to listen to police talk. Maybe if all you scannergeeks unite and sign a petition you can make a change. If all 23 of you sign the petition and bring it to Mr. Bannister I'm sure he will care alot.
SERIOUSLY AJC! Why are you allowing this to continue. You took an informative type news story and let a few nuts make it sound like all of Gwinnett County really cares if the scannergeeks can't listen to police talk.
By ScannerBuff
Nov 24, 2008 9:37 PM | Link to this
Concerned citizen. All you have done is instigate crap and it is not very professsional. You must have some issues to tend to. Your mental capacity is out of control and no matter what someone says, you have these smart *** remarks and that everyoneone else are nuts and morons. There might be some truth to that, but don't assume everyone you meet is a nut or moron. You actually might learn from someone when your mouth is shut. Good listening skills is the key to a well informed officer. Knee jerk reactions will definitely backfire and only hurt you.
There have been several instances, and I am not going to research this because I have seen the reports as well as the news medias reports myself. One instatnce, was when an officer got into a scuffle, during a traffic stop, on I-85 at midnight. The officer and perp were going at it for several minutesand the prep was prevailing. It was going no so well for the officer, until a scanner in the hands of a Tractor-Trailer driver was in the area and pulled over to give a hand. This truck driver was so large he just sat on both the officer and perp until other units could arrive. Everything turned out fine, but the officer was very gracious for the truck driver to offer his help. Look into this, many admins can remember that situation. Again, it was a citizen trying to help.
Scanners can be used responsibly and for the most they are. Its just the few bad apples that ruins it for the rest.
By Concerned Citizen
Nov 24, 2008 9:32 PM | Link to this
Ralph,
Way too much fellow citizen. If you go to the NHTSA stats for the State of Georgia it will answer all your questions about speed related fatalities. Gwinnett County was #2 in the state for speeding related fatalities behind Fulton County. Gwinnett was third overal behind Fulton and Dekalb. I say Gwinnett Police should do more speeding enforcement.
I'm confused. First you went on a rant about speed limits being set too low. Now you are telling me speed limits are set too high? There is no difference in the eyes of the law to exceeding the posted speed limit or speeding. They are the same genious. You can play with the wording all you want, it's still against the law. You are just trying to justify your law breaking.
Thanks for the history lesson about scannergeeks. I had to take a nap half way through the paragraph. I really don't need your life story either because I really don't care. I hope you appreciate my honesty?
I guess you all will have to do something productive with your time now or not. I really don't care what you do to deal with your no scanning blues.
Brian,
WTF! are you talking about? Kids, this is an example of why you should not do drugs.
By BRIAN
Nov 24, 2008 7:21 PM | Link to this
35 million right off the shelf ,when you have schools like Georgia Tech,Purdue,M.I.T WHERE A CONTEST COULD HAVE BEEN HELD AMONG THESE OR OTHER SCHOOLS TO SEE IF THEY COULD BUILD A BETTER SYSTEM.
By Ralph
Nov 24, 2008 7:18 PM | Link to this
Gee "Concerned Citizen", I am concerned about both your spelling skills and your reading comprehension skills. The spelling can be corrected with a simple program but alas....the reading comprehension skills would require much more effort to correct.
Let me help you on a few facts. I am not a 'disgruntled speeder' because I have never had a speeding ticket in my life and I have been driving for over 50 years. In fact, I've only had two tickets in my life and they were for accidents. How many speeding tickets have you had?
Yeah "Citizen", you just pull that figure out of the air? I would think the NHTSA could distinguish between 40-50%, don't you?
There is also a huge difference between speeding and exceeding the posted speed limit. That is the point I am trying to make with folks like you, who have small IQ's. Also just because a speed limit is set high, doesn't mean that poor drivers like yourself have to go the set limit.
Wouldn't know about the radar guns, "Citizen", never used them. I guess you never heard a radar site being set, have you. Radio chatter abounds.
People in this country have been listening to police broadcasts for over 80 years. In the early days of police radio they used a band on the AM scale which was just below the AM broadcast band. It was a favorite hobby of 'real' citizens to listen to the police broadcasts. The police felt no need to hide from the public. Why should it be any different today?
I don't need to use a radar detector, "Citizen", because cops aren't the brightest bulbs in the land. You learn where they usually stay, don't 'speed' over hills and around curves and you will do okay.
Two Last things "Citizen", before you call others names you should probably learn how to spell:-))). Secondly, the Duluth Police Department richly deserves all of the criticism that is directed towards them.
Your buddy,
Ralph
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