zlacker

What I heard is many police departments now encrypt their radio communications, with the exception of dispatch which they keep in the clear as a concession to the media and ambulance chasers.

>>catalo+(OP)
They also refer each other to their MDT or cell when working, which is equally effective at cutting out the public (whether intended or no). In many rural areas, analog FM voice is still in use with no encryption, which I've heard is at least sometimes due to more favorable propagation characteristics for reception at a distance.

>>themod+91
Digital signal is clearer, but all or nothing.

I know a fire chief who told me that some stations have switched back to analog. Some firefighters allegedly went silent and their bodies were found later. I guess it's believed that they attempted to radio for help, but the "digital cliff" stopped anything at all from getting through. If they'd heard someone calling for help, they could have gone there -- even if they didn't know exactly what the issue was.

I'm sure pricing is a factor in a lot of areas. $150 will buy a decent analog radio. The same thing, but digital will cost $300-500. Cheap Chinese radios can be had for as low as $30 or so. With just 100 radios saving $200 each, you get 20k to spend on other things. That matters a lot to rural police and even more to EMS (especially volunteer groups).