[StBernard] Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes will begin blocking emergency radio calls Friday

[Westley Annis]

Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes will begin blocking
emergency radio calls Friday

By Michelle Hunter, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on February 28, 2013 at 5:30 PM, updated February 28, 2013 at 5:52 PM Print

First responder agencies in Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes
will begin encrypting their emergency radio channels on Friday. That means
access to law enforcement scanner traffic will be blocked to anyone but
established media outlets, according to Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for
the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Although the capability exists, New Orleans is not opting to encrypt its
radio dispatch channels, according to Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed, deputy mayor of
public safety and director for the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness.

Members of the public have been able to follow emergency radio calls using
smartphone apps, websites or commercial scanners. But once the encryption
takes place, "apps or smartphones and scanners that are able to monitor law
enforcement frequencies will no longer be able to," Fortunato said.

The public first learned of the decision to encrypt local emergency radio
channels, including those in New Orleans, in December. Authorities said they
needed to block access to law enforcement channels because, in theory,
criminals could gain a leg up on police by listening to scanners. Several
law enforcement agencies around the country have made similar moves to
encode their radio channels.

But the local plan drew opposition from local media outlets and other groups
that monitor police activity. The furor cooled after New Orleans Police
Chief Ronal Serpas announced in late December that the NOPD would encrypt
only the department's talk channels, those used to convey confidential
information such as tactical plans. The dispatch channels in New Orleans
will remain open.

The other parishes decided to block the public from their radio calls. In
Jefferson Parish, that includes radio traffic for Kenner, Gretna, Harahan
and Westwego, according to Fortunato.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office provided local news media with the
software needed to allow journalists to continue monitoring law enforcement
channels in Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. However, Plaquemines Parish
authorities are not sharing their encryption software.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office technicians installed the software into
radios at NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune, WDSU-TV, WWL-TV, WVUE-TV, WGNO-TV and
WWL Radio. Fortunato said the Sheriff's Office is not providing the software
to anyone else. "The only media outlets that will be provided the software
are those who came on board in 1998 under then-Sheriff Harry Lee's
administration and purchased Motorola radios," he said.