Hear What’s Happening Around Seattle
Live Seattle Police precinct dispatch, King County Sheriff, fire and Medic One — on a scanner we set up for your address before it ships.
Yes — and Seattle is a deliberate case. When the department tightened up its radios in 2026 it kept the standard dispatch channels open on purpose, calling it a matter of transparency. So precinct dispatch, the King County Sheriff and Seattle Fire all still come through a scanner we program for your exact address.
What you’ll be hearing
Your SPD precinct
Seattle Police dispatch by precinct — North, West, East, South and Southwest — loaded for the one that covers your address.
King County Sheriff
Sheriff dispatch across unincorporated King County and the cities that contract with them.
Seattle Fire & Medic One
Fire and aid calls as they’re dispatched, including the Medic One responses this city is known for.
Water, weather and the pass
Marine traffic, ferry incidents, windstorm damage and highway response — heard as crews work it, not after.
We do the hard part for you
Nothing to program. King County is agency-by-agency — Seattle and the Sheriff are open, a few suburbs have gone dark. Give us your address, we load the ones that reach you, and we tell you which neighbours you won’t hear before you order.
Not in Seattle? We program a scanner for any U.S. address.
Check your area free and see exactly what you can hear before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Did Seattle Police encrypt their radios?
They encrypted tactical channels in 2026 but deliberately kept standard dispatch open, stating that transparency was the reason. So the everyday calls — the ones a scanner is actually for — are still receivable.
What kind of scanner do I need here?
A digital P25 scanner. The region runs on PSERN, a modern digital network, so an old analog-only scanner will hear nothing. Everything we ship for Seattle is the right kind.
Do I have to program it myself?
No. We program it for your exact Seattle-area address before it ships and it works the moment you switch it on.
I’m on the Eastside — Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond?
The Eastside is dispatched separately and encryption there varies by city. Give us the address and we’ll tell you exactly what’s receivable rather than guessing.
Is it legal to listen in Washington?
Yes. Listening to public-safety radio is legal in Washington. Using it to commit or assist a crime is not.
Shop police scanners for Seattle →
Photo: M.O. Stevens / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
