Financial gain or not ?

[scanner]

I was looking around on the net and came across this,


The City of Los Angeles, like the State of California, also prohibits listening for financial or, most certainly, criminal advantage. Its Sec. 52.46 titled "Use of Short Wave Radios" provides that “[n]o person who intercepts, overhears or receives any message or communication transmitted by any radio transmission station operating upon a wave length or radio frequency assigned by the Federal Communication Commission for use by any police or law enforcement department shall, for the financial benefit of himself or another communicate such message or communication to another or directly or indirectly use the information so obtained.”

does this apply here in australia?

i remember hearing something like this a while ago that it might be the same law here,

If you look at the media, using a scanner for news reports would be for financial gain would it not, because they get paid to report a story.

like to hear some views

[rochedalescan]

Nah I don't think that does apply here otherwise it would be the same with News Reporters as you said, Tow Truck operators etc.

All it is, is that you cant pass on any information or act on the information given. So really tow truck operators etc are on border line but im pretty sure the news room have a link with QPS anyway.

[robb]

All I will say is don't think the media don't use scanners, they do!

[AIRMAN]

That may never happen here.

Various states of the USA have different views and legislation relating to the use of monitoring so called emergency services and the departments of 'public safety' another name for the Police or Sheriffs Office. U.S.Federal Agencies have penalties for listening in on transmissions by say the FBI. I know that some states actually encourage monitoring of police channels by the public which has resulted in arrests of felons on the run from an actual scene of crime or a BOLO APB as the info has been phone in. There is however, penalties including jailtime in the USA if a device like a scanner is found by police and it has been established that the information was used to assist in the commission of crime.


Here in Australia we are influenced by each state and territory laws in this matter but....the media is all powerful and I believe they are instrumental in preventing a total blackout of emergency service UHF/VHF voice traffic. FOI is stronger in some states than others. Like the USA states, the police here will charge anyone using a scanner for criminal purposes including illegal financial gain.

[mstrkrft]

I know it is technically illegal in QLD to make a profit listening to scanners and decoding pager messages. There was a stage when cops tried to book news crews for turning up to jobs but they got over it pretty quickly.

Commercial networks in QLD use Scanners, PDW, MATCAD* (*very very watered down version of QPS's CAD system) and good old fashioned contacts to find out about emergency incidents.. I'm sure it would be a similar set up australia wide

[Stretch]

Like the USA states, the police here will charge anyone using a scanner for criminal purposes including illegal financial gain.

I think the key word there is illegal.

[Rohan]

qfrs actually send a page to the media when there is a big incident thatis happening

[robb]

In Tasmania the TFS page the media for fires that they want them to know about.

[mstrkrft]

qfrs actually send a page to the media when there is a big incident thatis happening

not anymore, only to the PR department of Emergency Managment Queensland

[Piggus]

qfrs actually send a page to the media when there is a big incident thatis happening

not anymore, only to the PR department of Emergency Managment Queensland

QFRS do in fact send out media briefings on large jobs. Emergency Management Qld is another organisation within the department (runs SES, VMR etc) and has nothin g to do with QFRS. The department has a media unit that looks after QFRS, QAS, EMQ, SES etc.

[Rohan]

all the escad reports that we get on large jobs say media page sent so i guess that could mean anyone

[mstrkrft]

I work for news in one of the main commercial networks i promise you they havent sent us page's for at least 4 years.. we listen to scanners and use PDW and if we want more detailed information we ring the EMQ media liason office and they ring comms to get us the details we need. Also alot of tips just come from us ringing contacts within emergency services all day.. It's alot of work!