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Police radio transmissions to be encrypted in Northern Region

Wednesday, 12 August 2015 08:30:49 AM

Police radio transmissions will soon be encrypted in parts of the state’s north under new arrangements aimed at improving officer safety in the region.

The encryption process, which is expected to go-live mid-September, will affect digital radio across Central Hunter, Hunter Valley, Port Stephens and Manning Great Lakes Local Area Commands.

This follows the successful encryption of police digital radios across all commands in the Sydney metropolitan region, Newcastle and Wollongong seven years ago.

Northern Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Jeff Loy, said the strategy represents an important step forward in ensuring the safety of police.

“Criminals will no longer be able to listen in on police radio transmissions to track emergency responses, which means we’re eliminating a significant risk to officer safety,” Assistant Commissioner Loy said.

“Policing can be a highly challenging and dangerous job and we’ll continue to develop and implement strategies that make their role as safe as possible.

“Encrypting radio transmissions not only means protecting our officers but also helping them solve and prevent crime,” Assistant Commissioner Loy said.

The change will also affect local media organisations as they’ll no longer have access to monitor police radio via scanners in newsrooms and vehicles.

“We will continue to assist media in the vital role they play in communicating information to the public that helps tackle crime,” Assistant Commissioner Loy said.

“To maintain this connection, we’ve developed the Police External Agencies Transfer System (PEATS), an internet feed that’s proved effective for a number of years in providing information on police activity, in place of radio transmissions.

“In addition, we’ll work with affected media organisations to ensure the new measures allow opportunities to attend operations of public significance,” Assistant Commissioner Loy said.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/lates ... w9MQ%3D%3D

The region being added to encryption is Channel November (Central Hunter, Hunter Valley, Port Stephens and Manning Great Lakes Local Area Commands)
I expect Channel Oscar (Mid North Coast) to go over in the near future.
There are current digital reception issues between Kempsey-Macksville that are being reported by highway based patrols

Thanks for the update.

Will be a sad day when that area gets encrypted.

The whole state is going to be encrypted in the long run
That is their policy as per the NSW Police Handbook, hence the digital rollout.

When you hear the broadcast "All cars and portables to switch to Zone 4", the end is nigh

Zone 3 is Regional Digital Clear
Zone 4 is Regional Digital Encrypted

For the record:
Zone 2 is Greater Sydney-Wollongong-Newcastle-Blue Mts Digital Encryption
Zone 1 is Regional Analog

Today at midday is rumoured to be the day for Channel November to go encrypted (Zone 4)

Information was good
Channel November now encrypted as of midday

This sucks. Does anyone have a recording of the switchover?


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Thanks, online streams.


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Where can I get a recording of the switchover is what I'm saying?


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I am abit surprised they were able to just cut it over in one hit at a specific time of day etc. But, looks like they have done it.

Unless somebody was at home on the day and recorded it, well that is just life, it occasionally sucks

Regional Encryption is a lot easier than when they encrypted the Greater Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong area in May 2008
That was done on the same zone (Zone 2) ... the radios were broadcasting encrypted signals from December 2006 ... but the dispatcher headset audio was being retransmitted in the clear until it was removed on the switchover day in May 2008... gave the radios a robotic tinny sound. Audio was quite bad at times
Regional Encryption is set on Zone 4 .... all radios have the encryption modules fitted ... you just change zones
PS: I have been listening for a very long time ... all this has been gleaned from over the air transmissions

Broadcastify.com records all streams, the streams are available for paying members and are released under the creative commons license, so able to be edited and shared for free completely legally.

Here's the recording from the cutover:

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/5n715mm ... utover.mp3

Bass Junkie wrote:Broadcastify.com records all streams, the streams are available for paying members and are released under the creative commons license, so able to be edited and shared for free completely legally.

Here's the recording from the cutover:

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/5n715mm ... utover.mp3

Awesome

PS I dont have much time for RR particularly the database and its recording arm - it is oriented these days like a business for profit but my experience is that the product is very patchy for charging users. The business model is wrong for what is a free-time hobby for 99% of users. There is a lot of good information here and there mind you.

So if I had a radio with an encryption module I would be able to listen to encrypted channels?


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Well no but that's something I can't really explain legally on the public domain.


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You would have to have the correct key uploaded into the module
64 bit DES-OFB means you have 70,000,000,000,000,000 key combinations to check.
Only one is the correct one

My local NSW plod station is on a channel that covers from Albury to Wentworth... so 90% of the talk is useless, and whats left is transport checks.

Friends of mine are TV news camera operators for Nine and Seven, and their first hand experience with NSW Police is that the police go out of their way to make things difficult for media.

A couple of years ago the Deniliquin inspector refused to do a press conference on the search for a missing child, presumed drowned; until he was told by the commissioner via the NSW Police media unit to do his bloody job.

Another incident was of a double murder at Moama, NSW. police were all for giving a press conference at the Moama station, but refused to say WHERE the murder scene was. TV news needs pictures.

blacktown wrote:You would have to have the correct key uploaded into the module
64 bit DES-OFB means you have 70,000,000,000,000,000 key combinations to check.
Only one is the correct one

And if you generate it or crack it that becomes illegal.


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Cally460 wrote:My local NSW plod station is on a channel that covers from Albury to Wentworth... so 90% of the talk is useless, and whats left is transport checks.

Friends of mine are TV news camera operators for Nine and Seven, and their first hand experience with NSW Police is that the police go out of their way to make things difficult for media.

A couple of years ago the Deniliquin inspector refused to do a press conference on the search for a missing child, presumed drowned; until he was told by the commissioner via the NSW Police media unit to do his bloody job.

Another incident was of a double murder at Moama, NSW. police were all for giving a press conference at the Moama station, but refused to say WHERE the murder scene was. TV news needs pictures.

Are we going off topic here?

blacktown wrote: Regional Encryption is set on Zone 4 .... all radios have the encryption modules fitted ... you just change zones

Ahhhhhh that makes sense, thanks.