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Anyone used to keeping an eye on the Albuquerque police comings and goings through their radio reports is out of luck – at least for now. And APD says it isn’t exactly when it will be back and in what format.
Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesman, said the department will be testing their new radio system over the next two weeks to ensure the devices can switch to encrypted channels if necessary. This means that the APD scanner’s chatter cannot be heard through widely used broadcasting apps.
It’s a move that makes transparency advocates angry.
“By encrypting the information, the police blocked the public and are now controlling the narration so we don’t know what is going on,” said Melanie Majors, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. “This move against transparency is a big red flag, and I can’t think of a more perfect way to arouse suspicion.”
The city of Albuquerque recently upgraded its radio system to allow APD officials to communicate with neighboring authorities. Officers were given the new radios in March, and city guides have touted improvements in incidents such as an August 19 shooting that injured four officers as critical.
Gallegos said shooting is an example of when it would be better for APD to encrypt their system. He said the department started testing the radios over the weekend to see if they could switch to encrypted channels and will continue doing so for the next two weeks.
“Initial tests over the weekend revealed unforeseen problems that require adjustments and additional testing to ensure that all APD officers can access encrypted channels when needed,” said Gallegos. “The $ 38 million system is designed to improve communication between law enforcement personnel and authorities, especially in critical incidents.”
He said that the department’s channels will only be accessible to staff during the trial period, but that the communications bureau “will continue to send alerts for all reports of homicides, fatalities and other critical incidents.”
When asked if the radio would be public again, Gallegos said it would be “in a certain format”. However, he said the publicly available radio may operate with a delay or be only available to media.
“There are concerns about real-time access – access to radio transmissions, for example in the critical incident when officers were shot dead,” he said.
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