Over and out? NYPD brass cite ‘bad guys’ using police radios, but still lack answers on giving press access amid encryption efforts

Police officials told a City Council budget hearing Wednesday that that the NYPD will encrypt officers’ radios to prevent “bad guys” from listening — but they failed to say what provisions are being made for the press to gain access since they too have been shut out.

Many precincts in Brooklyn and Staten Island have already had their radios encrypted, shutting press organizations out from vital information about emergency response — something which a coalition of media groups argue undermines police transparency. This forces journalists to rely largely upon police statements given long after the immediate response to crimes and other emergencies.

Chief Ruben Beltran, head of the NYPD’s Information Technology Bureau, told the City Council on March 20 that the NYPD expects the entire department’s radio frequencies to be encrypted by the first quarter of 2025. In order to meet that goal, the NYPD is looking to acquire and distribute 10,000 portable radios to help complete the transition. The NYPD is requesting an additional $81 million to cover some of the costs.

Once complete, the public and the media will be blocked from transmissions citywide that have been open to them for nearly 90 years.

Currently, all radio transmissions in the Brooklyn North precincts (73rd, 75th, 77th , 79th, 81st, 83rd, 84th, 88th, 90th and 94th Precincts) are encrypted including. Beltran said they are just completing the encryption of all four Staten Island precincts (120th, 121st, 122nd and 123rd). In terms of the rest of the city, he said 70-80% of the infrastructure is updated and will be completed by the end of the year or in 2025.

Beltran said there were “operational reasons and real concerns for security” that require the radio transmissions to be encrypted. He told the Council that the NYPD made 55 arrests in 2023 for unlawful possession of radio devices, and read off a list of arrested suspects.

But of the names he read, none of the arrested individuals were members of the media using scanner radios. When asked about whether the press was being lumped in with the bad guys, Commissioner Edward Caban, who also addressed the council, refused to comment.

The City council listened to the NYPD top cops justify their more than $5billion budget at City Hall March 20. Commissioner Edward Caban talks about the budget and crime, but not encryption. (Photos by Todd Maisel)

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams questioned whether the press would get access, but Beltran would not say, noting that the department is still considering its options.

“There should be a happy medium here…than throwing the baby out with bathwater,” she added.

Press organizations have been fighting for the right to continue to hear police radio transmissions, only to be told they might get radios with transmissions on “a 30-minute delay” after the encryption program is fully rolled out.

In the meantime, as the NYPD encrypts radios precinct by precinct, borough command by borough command, the press will be without most radio transmissions in those areas — cutting them off from a major source of news for most outlets.

One television journalist who was listening to the hearing commented, “They don’t want us getting in the way before they are ready for us – that’s it,” he said.

The City council listened to the NYPD top cops justify their more than $5billion budget at City Hall March 20. Speaker Adrienne Adams next to Chair Yusef Salaam. (Photos by Todd Maisel)