OUR VIEW: Encryption Doesn’t Serve Public, It Kills Transparency
From the Founders:
The Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper today published a lengthy article about Minneapolis police scanner encryption, giving space to both supporters and critics. We welcomed their coverage and the discussion of the topic. But the central truth is this: encryption doesn’t serve the public, it silences all of us.
Law enforcement leaders insist encryption is necessary for officer safety, compliance with federal rules and preventing misinformation. None of those claims stand up to scrutiny.
Take officer safety. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, hardly a soft-on-crime figure, said he can’t recall a single instance where open scanner traffic endangered officers. Yet the article highlighted rare anecdotes, like someone livestreaming during a manhunt, as if they justify a permanent blackout of every channel. They don’t. Those are outliers, not daily risks.
Federal compliance is another justification. Officials point to federal rules about broadcasting private data. But that’s a problem with a simple solution. Moving sensitive traffic to currently existing secured channels, which already happens every day multiple times throughout the state. Minnesota’s ARMER system is designed for exactly this—allowing officers to switch to secure “talkgroups” for running driver’s license numbers, warrant checks or sensitive information. From all the publicly available data we can find, sensitive details haven’t been routinely broadcast over the main radio channels since the ARMER system was implemented.
The Star Tribune quoted Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Megan Larson, who claimed “it isn’t as easy as, ‘Change to channel 2.’” Minneapolis officials added they don’t have “the personnel or the technology” to run delayed or redacted public feeds. That excuse is simply not true.
Agencies around the country already provide delayed public access. Baltimore PD streams radio traffic to the public on a 15-minute delay. Chicago does the same, balancing transparency with officer safety. Even Minneapolis itself runs its public dashboard on a 30-minute delay, proving that delayed feeds are possible under current systems. These solutions are achieved through software settings, not teams of staff monitoring audio.
And as for “Channel 2,” officers in Minnesota already switch to secondary or data channels daily to run warrants and transmit driver’s license numbers. Sensitive information hasn’t been broadcast over the main channels since the ARMER radio system was implemented. The procedures and technology already exist. Minneapolis isn’t encrypting because they have to. They’re encrypting because they want to.
And misinformation? That argument collapses under the slightest pressure. In reality, misinformation thrives in a vacuum. Without access to real-time information, rumor and speculation take over.
The June federal raid on East Lake Street proves the point: As federal agents executed a criminal search warrant on a business suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering, protesters quickly assumed they were witnessing an ICE immigration raid. That false narrative spread immediately, drawing unruly crowds who eventually hurled objects at officers. The situation became so volatile that agents were forced to leave before completing the warrant for their own safety. That wasn’t just a communications failure—it was a public safety disaster.
Had scanner access been available, the truth could have circulated in real-time: this was not an immigration roundup, it was a criminal drug case. Instead, in the absence of information, rumor ruled. And when rumors spread faster than facts, the results can be chaos on the street.
Or look at the Annunciation Church attack in Minneapolis, where two children were murdered and nearly two-dozen other innocents injured. Because scanners were encrypted, only fragmented details emerged. In the past, MN CRIME and others could have provided fuller, verified accounts in real-time. Instead, the public was left confused and uninformed during one of the most significant attacks in recent city history, with no clear answers given by officials about whether the threat was over or if the suspect had been caught.
And there are examples of scanners helping police directly. Earlier this year, Ramsey County Deputy Patrick Scott credited a scanner listener with spotting a murder suspect and helping get him into custody. Encryption erases those opportunities for the public to assist law enforcement.
Commissioner Toddrick Barnette claimed encryption prevents the spread of unverified early information that is “sometimes inaccurate.” But early information can be inaccurate for many reasons—bad 911 calls, chaotic scenes or missing details. That uncertainty is a natural part of emergency response, not a justification to cut the public out entirely. The public understands scanner traffic is raw and developing.
Barnette said the city will keep the public “informed” through briefings and data requests. In practice, Minneapolis only issues full press releases for homicides. Non-fatal shootings, stabbings, robberies, crashes and other major incidents rarely receive official updates. And even when briefings are given, they are also not always accurate. The clearest example is the Minneapolis Police Department’s own release after George Floyd’s killing. That statement described the case as a “medical incident during police interaction.” The world later learned Floyd had been murdered by an officer kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. If the public is expected to rely only on official statements, how can they trust those statements when history shows the “official” account can sometimes be misleading? Encryption doesn’t stop inaccuracies, it only prevents independent access to the unfiltered reality.
Residents quoted in the Star Tribune described exactly this frustration. Lynne Crockett said she now hears sirens but has no idea whether they matter for her safety. Volunteers like Catherine Cowley said that, just one day with full MPD radio encryption, their groups could no longer answer basic questions from neighbors: Where is the threat? Is it over? Did police catch the suspect? Those answers used to come quickly. Now, they often don’t come at all.
And now St. Paul Fire has announced plans to encrypt their radios, too. Here, the logic breaks down completely. Fire radio doesn’t carry criminal histories, tactical surveillance or sensitive investigative details. It carries fire dispatches and “fireground” reports—information the public has every right to hear. If medical privacy is the concern, use dedicated EMS channels or digital handoff tools. A blanket blackout for fire operations has nothing to do with compliance and everything to do with expanding a culture of secrecy.
Minnesota’s data laws add a second wall of privacy. Even when body-camera footage could answer urgent public questions, state law classifies most body-cam data as private or non-public by default, with narrow exceptions (e.g., firearm discharge notices, uses of force causing “substantial bodily harm” or when the subject requests release). Agencies can also withhold or redact portions deemed “clearly offensive to common sensibilities,” and challenges require a court action—a costly, slow path that delays public scrutiny.
After George Floyd’s murder, Minneapolis pledged reform and transparency. Instead, city leaders are turning off the public’s access to information at the very moment oversight is most critical.
The Star Tribune laid out both sides of this issue. But the facts aren’t equal. Open scanners give residents real-time awareness, help journalists verify breaking events and even assist law enforcement when the public calls in tips. Encryption erodes trust, spreads suspicion and hides the workings of government.
Encryption doesn’t solve problems — it obscures them. And when the government hides, public trust collapses.
Closing scanners doesn’t make us safer, it just makes us blind.
Sources
Baltimore Police: public scanner feed with 15-minute delay (Baltimore Police Department)
Chicago: delayed scanner audio, transparency compromise (WTTW News)
Minneapolis: dashboard operates with ~30-minute delay (Axios Twin Cities)
Minnesota ARMER radio system: secure talkgroups and interoperability (MN Dept. of Health)
