MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO)—Police scanner chatter in Minneapolis is no longer available to the public. The city is the largest in the state to now encrypt its police scanners. Minneapolis 911 Director Joni Hodne says the move is necessary to protect sensitive data and personal privacy, but she says all 911 incident information will still be available on a new online dashboard.
Hodne says, “It will update every 30 minutes and map out the locations of incidents broken down by police, fire, and behavioral crisis response calls.”
Critics say the move will negatively affect police transparency in a department that needs it, considering the mandated reforms underway since the police killing of George Floyd.
The city notes in a press release that the “dramatic rise in the use of social media and scanner apps to track first responders jeopardizes emergency response operations and can lead to the spread of incomplete, inaccurate, or unsubstantiated information,” adding that it can cause safety concerns for first responders and the public. Hodne says this is truly about protecting personal information and the safety of the first responders.
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