The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) has announced that it will begin encrypting radio transmissions on May 1, leaving the public, watchdogs, and media in the dark about current or developing public safety incidents.
The city made the announcement this week as it also rolled out a new emergency incident dashboard that it claims will inform the public about recent incidents.
The city cites first responder safety and data privacy concerns as its reasons for moving to encryption.
The MPD dispatch channels will test the encrypted radio channels in several rotations over the next several days until May 1 when they move to full encryption.
MPD radio encryption has been on the horizon for some time, as many law enforcement agencies across the country and state have already moved to encrypted radio transmissions. In fact, St. Paul, Ramsey County, and Anoka County are among the few agencies left in the Twin Cities metro area that are not yet encrypted.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office moved to encrypted transmissions in 2019, shortly after Dave Hutchinson was elected, despite his campaign promise of transparency. Other law enforcement agencies that have since switched to encrypted transmissions include Bloomington, Richfield, Edina, the counties of Scott, Dakota, and Washington, as well as the University of Minnesota Police Department.
There are other potential solutions to address the safety and privacy concerns, such as delaying radio transmissions or using encrypted channels for more sensitive incidents or information, which MPD already has access to. Most MPD squads also have onboard squad computers or data terminals where sensitive information can be transmitted and left off the air.
There have been some legal challenges and legislative attempts over the past few years to stop or reverse law enforcement radio encryption or carve out accommodations for media in some states or jurisdictions, but the efforts have proved generally fruitless.
The dashboard that the city rolled out lists very limited information about incidents from the last 12 hours, such as “auto theft” or “person with a gun,” but does not give any details of outcomes, suspect or vehicle descriptions, or other information to help the public be aware of immediate safety concerns, such as robbery sprees, which have been frequent in the city.
It’s unclear if any entities or affected parties like media plan to take legal action to stop or reverse the encryption trend in Minnesota, and any effort to do so would likely need to be addressed in the legislature.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
