The Berkeley Police Department is seeking to encrypt all its radio communications, per a formal request from the department to the Berkeley City Council that will be discussed at its upcoming meeting Oct. 28.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
At present, only BPD radio communications for Special Response Team operations \u2014 which tend to be high-risk \u2014 and those relaying \u201ccriminal justice information,\u201d such as criminal histories, as well as personally identifiable information are encrypted as required by a 2020 directive from the California Department of Justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A city council resolution passed in 2021 stated that all other communications \u201cshall be unencrypted and thereby transmittable to the news media and public through scanners or other relevant technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn recent months and over the last several years, BPD officers and detectives have documented multiple incidents where suspects actively monitored unencrypted radio traffic while committing crimes, most often in coordinated overnight commercial burglaries involving multiple suspects,\u201d said BPD Police Chief Jennifer Louis in a statement to the council.\u00a0 She added, \u201cIntelligence shared through regional partnerships confirms that this is widespread, organized, and in some cases involves armed offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, she said the lack of encryption has \u201csubstantial\u201d implications for officer safety, claiming that advance knowledge of officer locations allows suspects to \u201cprepare aggressive responses\u201d and \u201cset up ambushes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting that all other law enforcement agencies in Alameda and Contra Costa counties are currently moving toward total encryption, Louis added that BPD\u2019s lack of encryption would expose the city to \u201cheightened liability,\u201d as Berkeley would be \u201cchoosing not to meet statewide privacy and security expectations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n