Some thoughts on police radio encryption. Buckle up, this is a thread.

These are the personal opinions of someone (me) who has been scanning many of these agencies since I was 11.

As you will notice, there is no information in the news release about how these departments plan to allow reporters to remain aware of incidents in a timely enough manner so that they remain newsworthy.

The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. Our country’s democracy is built around elaborate checks and balances at all levels of government, down to the ability of citizens to ask questions of and peacefully push back against government officials.

A few police departments say they will have call logs on their websites. Again, the police control the list, and this allows for no checks/balances to ensure that the list is accurate and complete.

Police are making themselves news editors, and that isn’t their role. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that the following analogy is a bit silly but accurate.

False impersonation is a class B misdemeanor in Kansas. Yet all departments included in this news release want to impersonate journalists.

The police controlling all information is not transparent.

It will lead to greater public distrust and more leeway for inaccurate and/or dangerous rumors about incidents in progress.

The @CityofShawneeKS council chambers is filling in quick.

The council committee will be discussing a non-discrimination ordinance tonight. @CityofShawneeKS Meeting underway now. Standing room only with overflow seating in the lobby.

Here's the link to the full agenda: cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/Portal/Meeting…