How Police Radio Encryption Widens the Accountability Gap

Police radio encryption is creating what award-winning Kansas journalist Max McCoy calls a widening accountability gap between law enforcement and the public they serve. In a searing first-person essay published July 26, 2026, in the Kansas Reflector, McCoy traces 93 years of public police radio history to argue that encryption — justified by the CJIS mandate but applied far beyond it — threatens the transparency that has defined American policing since the 1930s.

The 93-Year History of Public Police Radio

McCoy's essay opens by recalling the birth of police radio in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1933, where the first two-way police radio system let officers communicate with headquarters and, inadvertently, put the public within earshot of law enforcement in real time. For nearly a century, that arrangement has allowed journalists, researchers, and ordinary citizens to monitor police activity as it happens — a de facto transparency mechanism that predates modern freedom of information laws.

Today, that tradition is under threat. As McCoy writes, the CJIS mandate "does not cover all dispatch traffic, but most agencies are opting to go all-in with encryption." The result: a rapid, coast-to-coast shutdown of public access that McCoy describes as a crisis for democratic accountability. Read the full essay at Kansas Reflector.

The CJIS Mandate: From Narrow Rule to Blanket Justification

The FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) security policy was designed to protect sensitive criminal justice data. It requires encryption for certain transmissions involving personally identifiable information. But McCoy's reporting—and the national trend—shows agencies using CJIS as a catch-all rationale to encrypt all dispatch traffic, including routine calls that carry no private data.

This overreach is at the heart of the accountability gap. When every channel goes dark, the public loses the ability to hear officers responding to calls, gauge the tone of an incident, or hold departments accountable in real time. The Kansas Reflector piece cites a growing body of evidence that this blanket approach goes far beyond what the FBI requires.

Evidence from Loudoun County: 22 of 27 Incidents Went Unreported

McCoy points to the Loudoun Now audit of Loudoun County, Virginia — a jurisdiction that encrypted its dispatch in 2024 — which found that 22 of 27 critical incidents went unreported to the public for hours or even days after they occurred. Before encryption, scanner listeners and newsrooms would have known about those incidents in real time.

The Loudoun County findings are not an isolated case. They echo patterns seen across the country as more agencies flip the encryption switch, making McCoy's argument a national one. For a deeper look at that case, see our earlier coverage: Loudoun County Encryption: Transparency Gap Exposed by Audit.

Kansas's HALO Act: A 'Double Blow' to Transparency

McCoy's essay hits close to home for Kansas listeners. The state recently enacted the HALO Act, which creates a 25-foot buffer zone around police officers — limiting how close the public and press can get to law enforcement activity. Combined with encryption, McCoy argues, the HALO Act represents a "double blow" to accountability: the public can neither hear what officers are saying (encryption) nor get close enough to see what they're doing (HALO Act buffer zone).

For Kansas residents and journalists in particular, this one-two punch makes it harder than ever to report on and understand police operations in their communities.

U.S. Press Freedom and the Scanner Connection

McCoy's essay arrives as the United States has dropped to 64th in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. The loss of scanner access compounds this decline, stripping journalists of a vital real-time reporting tool. When police radios go dark, newsrooms lose the ability to hear unfolding events in officers' own words — words that often tell a different story than official press releases.

For years, scanner listeners have served as force multipliers for newsrooms, tipping off reporters to breaking incidents. Encryption ends that informal partnership and makes journalism more reactive, slower, and less complete.

What You Can Do: Stay Informed with the Right Scanner

While many agencies are encrypting, pockets of open dispatch remain — and having a reliable, pre-programmed scanner ensures you can hear what's still accessible in your area. A Baofeng UV-5R Plus Police Scanner arrives programmed to your local frequencies, so you can start listening immediately. Check with your county's public safety agency to confirm their encryption status before purchasing.

FAQ: Police Radio Encryption and the Accountability Gap

What is the accountability gap in police radio?

The accountability gap refers to the loss of public oversight that occurs when law enforcement agencies encrypt their radio communications, preventing the public, journalists, and researchers from monitoring police dispatch in real time.

Does the CJIS mandate require all police radio traffic to be encrypted?

No. The CJIS security policy requires encryption only for transmissions that contain personally identifiable information (PII) or criminal justice data. Many agencies encrypt all traffic as a blanket policy, going beyond what CJIS mandates.

What is the Kansas HALO Act?

The HALO Act is a Kansas state law that creates a 25-foot buffer zone around law enforcement officers, limiting how close the public and press can approach police activity. Combined with radio encryption, critics say it creates a double barrier to accountability.

How does the U.S. rank in press freedom?

The United States ranked 64th in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index in 2026, a significant decline that critics say is compounded by the loss of police radio access.

Are there still areas where police radio is open?

Yes. While encryption is spreading rapidly, many smaller jurisdictions and some states have not yet encrypted their dispatch channels. Laws like New York's Police Radio Transparency Act aim to preserve public access. Check your local agency's status and consider a programmable scanner to monitor what's still available.

What happened in Loudoun County after encryption?

A Loudoun Now audit found that 22 of 27 critical incidents went unreported to the public for hours or days after dispatch was encrypted. Before encryption, scanner listeners and local newsrooms would have known about these incidents in real time.

The bottom line: McCoy's Kansas Reflector essay is a powerful reminder that police radio encryption is not just a technical issue — it is a democracy issue. As agencies across the country use the CJIS mandate as a blanket justification for full encryption, the public loses a century-old tool for holding law enforcement accountable. Staying informed starts with understanding what's changing in your community — and ensuring you have the right equipment to hear what remains open.