Police radio transmissions will soon be encrypted in the New England and Oxley Police Districts as part of a project targeted at improving communications and officer safety across the region with the implementation of digital radio.
The encryption process, which is expected to go-live on Tuesday (3 December 2019), will affect digital radio across the New England and Oxley police districts. Chifley and Central West police districts will follow closely before the end of the year, with Central North and Orana Mid Western police districts in mid-2020.
This follows the successful encryption of police digital radios across the state several years ago and will result in a fully encrypted radio communications network for police across the entire state. Over 100 radio sites have been upgraded to date, significantly improving both the quality of transmissions and coverage.
Western Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie, said the strategy represents an important step forward in ensuring the safety of police.
“Criminals will no longer be able to listen in on police radio transmissions to track emergency responses, which means we’re eliminating a significant risk to officer safety,” Assistant Commissioner McKechnie said.
“Policing can be a highly challenging and dangerous job and we’ll continue to develop and implement strategies that make their role as safe as possible.
“Encrypting radio transmissions not only means protecting our officers but also helping them solve and prevent crime.”
The change will also affect local media organisations as they’ll no longer have access to monitor police radio via scanners in newsrooms and vehicles.
“We will continue to assist media in the vital role they play in communicating information to the public that helps tackle crime,” Assistant Commissioner McKechnie said.
“Police will work with affected media organisations to ensure the new measures allow opportunities to attend operations of public significance.”
