NYC Bill Sets a 15-Minute Cap on NYPD Encrypted Radio (2026)

A new New York City Council bill would put a hard number on the NYPD's press radio delay for the first time: 15 minutes, no more, and the feed would have to be scannable. Introduction 1025-2026 was introduced on Sept. 10, 2026 by Council Member Gale A. Brewer and referred to the Committee on Public Safety (Intro 1025-2026). If it becomes law, it would force a measurable ceiling onto a policy the department left open-ended.

What Intro 1025-2026 Would Require

The bill amends the provisions created by Local Law 46 of 2026, which required the NYPD to adopt a policy for its use of encrypted radio communications. Two requirements are new.

• A 15-minute cap: the NYPD would have to broadcast certain encrypted channels to professional journalists with a time delay of no more than 15 minutes.
• A scannable system: the system used to broadcast those encrypted channels would have to let users scan available channels to locate radio transmissions.

Both requirements come straight from the bill text at intro.nyc, and both are still proposals, not policy.

Why the 15-Minute Number Is the Real News

The NYPD went encrypted without committing to a specific delay length. That left the practical question, how far behind is the press feed, unanswered by the department itself. A number in law is different from a number in a press release, because a number in law can be measured and enforced.

Fifteen minutes is short enough that a newsroom can still cover a breaking incident while it is breaking. For comparison, the two most common shields are a live encrypted system closed to everyone and a delayed feed whose length nobody publishes. This bill targets the second case directly.

A Scanning Requirement, Not Just a Feed

The second requirement is the one listeners should read twice. Handing a journalist a radio that only receives one programmed channel is not the same as handing over a receiver that can scan. The bill requires the broadcasting system to let users scan available channels to locate radio transmissions, which protects the ability to find traffic in the first place, not just to receive a fixed slice of it.

For anyone who has watched a department satisfy a transparency rule with a single, narrow feed, that distinction is the difference between access on paper and access in practice.

How This Differs From the Two Other New York Fights

This is a separate track from the two New York items we have already covered, and it does not replace either one:

• The NYPD delayed-feed comment period, which drew public comments on the department's own draft plan. That process is administrative, and it closed on Aug. 30, 2026. Background: NYPD Delayed Feed Plan Draws Fire.
• The state Police Radio Transparency Act, which moved through Albany and headed to the governor. That is state law affecting agencies statewide. Background: New York Police Radio Transparency Act Heads to Hochul.
• Intro 1025-2026, which is city law aimed squarely at the NYPD's delay length and at scanning.

Three different instruments, three different paths, and a listener in the five boroughs is affected by all of them.

Where the Bill Stands

Status is committee referral only. There is no vote and no effective date as of Sept. 2026, and no committee hearing on the calendar that we can confirm. Treat any claim that the NYPD has already agreed to a 15-minute delay as unverified until the Council acts.

New York City Council introductions routinely stall in committee. A referral is the first step, not a signal of passage, and a bill that never gets a hearing dies quietly at the end of the term. That is the honest read on where this sits today.

What to Watch Next

1. A hearing date. A public safety committee hearing is the first real sign of movement.
2. A fiscal or technical memo. Broadcast systems that let users scan cost money to build, and the NYPD will have to say what it thinks that costs.
3. A companion push in Albany. If the state act lands with a delay standard, the city bill's 15 minutes starts to look like the floor rather than the ceiling.

None of that has happened yet. We will report it when it does.

FAQ

What does Intro 1025-2026 do?

It amends Local Law 46 of 2026 to require the NYPD to broadcast certain encrypted channels to professional journalists with a delay of no more than 15 minutes, and to require the broadcasting system to let users scan available channels to find transmissions.

Who introduced the bill?

Council Member Gale A. Brewer introduced Introduction 1025-2026 on Sept. 10, 2026. It was referred to the Committee on Public Safety.

Is the 15-minute delay in effect now?

No. The bill is a proposal in committee. There is no vote and no effective date, so the NYPD's current policy, which does not commit to a specific delay length, still governs.

Does the bill give the public live access to NYPD radio?

No. It addresses professional journalists and the mechanics of a delayed broadcast system. It does not restore live encrypted radio to the general public.

Why does the scanning requirement matter?

Because a feed that cannot be scanned is a feed you cannot search. The requirement keeps users able to locate transmissions as they happen, rather than restricting them to a single programmed channel.

Where can I read the bill text?

The full text and status are published on the city's legislation site at intro.nyc/1025-2026.

Bottom line: Intro 1025-2026 is the first New York measure to put a number, 15 minutes, and a scanning requirement on the NYPD's encrypted radio delay. It is a committee referral with no vote scheduled, so nothing changes for listeners yet, but it is the clearest signal yet that the undefined delay is becoming a political liability.