By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Last week, all Rice County law enforcement agencies adopted an encrypted radio system in an effort to protect the privacy of crime victims as well as the safety of law enforcement agents.
Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas said the move puts the agencies in line with federal recommendations while helping keep officers safe from those looking to do them harm and blocking sensitive information from the public.
“One reason is to protect the victims of our calls. A lot of times sensitive information gets aired and this way we don’t have to worry about it getting into the wrong hands and ending up on Facebook. And then family members of a victim find out through Facebook that either the loved one passed away or got arrested, and we don’t have the proper amount of time to contact them and do it the right.” – Sheriff Jesse Thomas on the KYMN Morning Show
A recent incident, in which residents listened to scanner traffic and posted that information on social media illustrate the problem with law enforcement having those conversations be publicly available.
According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, federal agencies are required by law to use encrypted communications at all times, while state, local, tribal and territorial public safety agencies are strongly encouraged to adopt advanced encryption standard radios. Thomas said the change came at the prompting of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The lack of active encrypted radio communications can severely impact operations and personnel safety in many situations, including active shooter incidents, search and rescue deployments, training exercises, emergency response, active investigations and surveillance and medical emergencies.
According to a statement issued by Rice County, the radio encryption currently pertains only to Rice County’s law enforcement agencies and does not impact the county’s fire, rescue or EMS service
