A recent change by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has citizens, and local news outlets, unable to listen to radio dispatching from the 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Call Center.
On March 11, 2021, the department began using an encrypted system. The change means no one can listen without special equipment and authorization from the Sheriff’s Office.
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That means everyone with a standard police scanner cannot listen to communications between the 9-1-1 Center, Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department.
It also means popular apps and websites people use to listen in on “scanner chatter” have lost those signals.
One of the most popular sites is www.broadcastify.com which provides links to listen to law enforcement and other emergency agencies across the country. The website was recently changed to tell users the Richmond County feed is gone.
Broadcastify CEO Lindsay Blanton said, “I don’t have any hard statistics on agencies that have moved to encryption. It happens every once in a while.”
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Encryption is not new, even locally. Law enforcement agencies began moving to an encrypted system more than a decade ago. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office began encrypting its signal in October, 2012. Public Information Officer Major Steve Morris said it was part of an overall upgrade to a new radio system.
“We did it for several reasons, including deputy safety, preventing criminals from monitoring our activities and improving communications with other agencies,” Morris said.
When local news outlets requested a way to monitor Columbia County radio signals, Sheriff Clay Whittle agreed to sell CCSO handheld portable radios that were modified to “receive-only” and authorized media access to hear channel one, the department’s primary dispatch channel. The Columbia County Fire Department also authorized media access to its channels.
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The Augusta Press last week contacted the RCSO Public Information Office to request access to the newly encrypted channels. There was no response. We asked again on Monday. The PIO responded, “Your request was received last week.” There is no indication if, and when, the request may be granted or denied.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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