Missed Signals Is the new $51 million police radio system a public safety boon or a dangerous communications breakdown? by Gwen Shaffer The spot news photographer at the Philadelphia Daily News is never far from his many scanners. Jim MacMillan keeps one scanner tuned to police calls, a second to fire calls and a third that floats around the dial. He carries a portable scanner in his car, too. On an average day, MacMillan says he runs down between 10 and 20 events for possible photographs. "About 90 percent of those originate from the scanner." But a new $51 million digital radio system to be installed in Philadelphia could change all that. City officials will control the information local television, radio and newspaper outlets may monitor, as well as which news operations will be granted access at all. "This will definitely hurt newsgathering," predicts Barbara Kaplan, president of the Radio and Television News Directors Association. "Police communications up until now have been public. The fact that they are now secret will make it more difficult and expensive to report the news." Philadelphia's existing analog radio system � which uses lower-spectrum frequencies between 453 and 458-megahertz � dates back to the 1960s, stresses Deputy Police Commissioner Charles Brennan. "This is way overdue." He says the radios will increase police response times and prevent techno-savvy criminals from thwarting arrest attempts. Perhaps scrambling police conversations protects the public from cerebral criminals, but other public safety measures will be curtailed when communications go digital. Just ask volunteers in any of Philadelphia's 600 neighborhood town watch groups that have contributed to the city's falling crime rate. "Town watch groups are the eyes and ears of the police department," says Sam Ricks, an active member of a town watch group in the 12th police district (encompassing the Kingsessing, Elmwood and Paschall communities). "If the police clip off our ears, our role is greatly diminished." Despite the benefits that accompany the public's use of police scanners, city officials are dangerously close to severing the privilege. In a confidential memo from City Solicitor Stephanie Franklin-Suber to Council President Anna Verna, the legal department concludes there is "no general right of the news media or others to monitor police and fire radio communications." The June 2 memo goes on to state that the city is "free to implement a radio communications network that encrypts and otherwise prevents or restricts" news media and other citizens from monitoring the airwaves. This push to restrict public access to city agencies is partially driven by the larger "right to privacy" issue, speculates Mark Miller, news director at radio station WBFF-AM in Baltimore, where city police are transitioning to a digital system as well. He says citizens are angry to learn the state is selling information they provide when registering for a driver's license. They are fed up with telemarketing companies that pirate their phone numbers. But Miller believes the public is allowing local lawmakers to take privacy one step too far. "A government that operates in secret becomes a secret government," he warns. Beyond the issues of secrecy and access, there are serious questions about the reliability of digital radio systems. Their signals pass through a network of complicated software and hardware. And computers are known to crash. � City Council passed legislation May 26 giving the green light to Motorola to develop an 800-megahertz digital radio system for city agencies. When Phase I is completed in 18 months, the fire department, the department of public property, fleet management, the airport and the water department, among others, will all be online. Police communications will be phased in over the following year and a half. "The public shouldn't have a right to listen to surveillance," says one scanner enthusiast, "but Philadelphia has gone overboard by not allowing the public to listen to anything." The system will be funded with a $1 customer surcharge for 911 operations, and money from the Philadelphia International Airport and the Water Revenue Department. Officials are also hoping to lease some radio channels not used by the city. (Interesting that the taxpayers funding the system will not have access to it.) The new system will scramble the channels across which voices are transmitted, a technology known as "trunking." While "trunk trackers" are available at mainstream electronics stores like Radio Shack, these scanners are incapable of monitoring a digital system. Hook them up, and an exasperating hissing noise is about all you can hear. The privacy factor certainly has its advantages, as law enforcement officials are quick to point out. "Bad guys," particularly drug dealers, will no longer be able to use scanners to pinpoint where cops are located, thus foiling narcotics busts. During City Council hearings on the radios, Police Commissioner John Timoney made this point himself. "We need [that ability] so we... will not be overheard so drug dealers can either get rid of the drugs � flush them down the toilet or, heaven forbid, prepare to fight the officers as they arrive," he testified. The police department will also have the option of "encrypting" messages as they are transmitted � a function other cities use to protect highly sensitive surveillance data and undercover operations. Encrypted messages are impossible to understand unless the listener has access to the code. Although much of this guarded communication is currently conducted over the mobile data terminals (MDTs) installed in patrol cars last year, Brennan says, upgraded radios will help more. "The MDTs are much slower and you have to key in everything you want to say." Philadelphia's 800 MHz network will carry 30 channels. This is fewer frequencies than the current system accommodates, but their increased efficiency more than compensates. Rather than assign each police district its own frequency � which may fluctuate between very busy periods and idle periods � the channels will be pooled. Each officer will be randomly assigned to a frequency available the instant he pushes down on his mike button. With a digital system, city officials can take advantage of what Motorola refers to as "now technology." These are functions not available through Philadelphia's existing analog system, explains John McFadden, vice president for direct sales. Digital radio performs automated tasks such as keeping records and logging locations. With the touch of a computer key, the dispatcher will be able to form "talk groups." This function makes disaster response easier, McFadden says. When 17 agencies responded to the school shooting in Littleton, CO, they could not communicate with one another. Philly's future system will allow them to do that. The radios will also have "caller identification." The dispatcher will know exactly which officer pushed his or her button. So if a cop loses a radio, it may be "put to sleep" and rendered unusable by its finder. Motorola has designed the network to provide clear and consistent audio in 95 percent of the city. This performance is "far better" than the analog radios now in use, says Coile Schwab, vice president for systems integration and services. "You can't get 100 percent coverage with [any] two-way system." It is difficult for a digital signal to pass through steel-reinforced buildings, and underground areas such as the subway may thwart the signal, Schwab acknowledges. To increase that coverage by even 1 percent, to 96 percent, the city would need to build twice as many transmission towers, "and you would just be creating more interference." A whole other city lurks beneath Philly streets, in subway tubes and pedestrian tunnels. For now, they will go unwired. Connecting SEPTA stations to the digital network is an option in Motorola's contract, McFadden says. "The plan is to go underground once it is funded." � When City Council authorized the Motorola contract last month, Councilman Frank Rizzo asked the city's legal department to investigate government's right to prohibit monitoring of police and fire communications. On June 2, City Solicitor Stephanie Franklin-Suber came back with a response that most journalists find disheartening. The memo, addressed to Council President Verna, cites both the Federal Communications Act of 1934 and the Federal Wiretap Act. "...because radio transmissions under the 800 MHz system will not be readily accessible to the public, the City has no legal obligation to make these transmissions available..." Franklin-Suber writes. "It appears that the City is free to implement a radio communications system that encrypts and otherwise prevents or restricts news media, citizens, and others from monitoring police and fire department communications," the memo continues. What does this mean for local television and radio stations and newspapers that depend on the ability to monitor police and fire department calls with a scanner? How will they determine where and when to dispatch reporters, photographers, camera crews and those infamous sky-choppers? "If we don't have access to police communications, we are flirting with the end of local news photography in America," MacMillan warns. At a minimum, covering law enforcement will be more of a challenge. At the worst, accuracy and timeliness will plummet. Good visuals will be history. One thing remains certain, however � once the digital system is in place, the media will be at the mercy of city officials. Local agencies will determine to whom they sell or lease the new scanners (Motorola is not permitted to sell them directly). And even if the city opts to provide scanners, they will be programmed to receive only routine traffic. Although Philadelphia officials have not issued a policy on how they plan to handle media access, Procurement Commissioner Louis Applebaum says they are "studying" the issue. � Mr. Scan Man: Townwatch volunteer Sam Ricks depends on his scanner to assist police "We envision the media will have an opportunity to buy equipment. The city will control what [which channels] they get � routine traffic, primarily. If there were a drug raid in Kensington, for instance, that would be protected," he says. The City Solicitor believes it is "within our rights" to keep radio communications secret, Applebaum says. "We are not going to jeopardize an officer's life, and once you let the media in, you're taking that chance." Even for the limited access the media is lucky enough to get, news outlets must pay dearly. The city of Cleveland, for instance, sells Motorola monitors for $4,000 to $6,000 each. An annual licensing fee of $50 per radio is stacked on top of that. Costs incurred by Fox affiliate WWJW are typical. That station purchased two scanners for monitoring police frequencies, plus an additional scanner for fire and EMS channels. WWJW paid a one-time programming fee of $100 for each of the three scanners, as well. But what's the point, some local reporters are asking. "I don't want to hear one band," insists Thomas Gibbons, police administration bureau chief for the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I want to intercept all their frequencies." A quick glance around the press room at police headquarters, and Gibbons counts five scanners perched on reporters' desks. "And it's not that big of a room," he comments. For some reporters who cover cops, scanners are their lifeline. Of course, if police are discussing tactical operations, the media shouldn't "walk in" on the discussion, acknowledges Miller, the Baltimore radio news director. But what about the public safety advantages gained only when the media learns of a situation the moment it is reported to police or fire departments? he wonders. Before Baltimore County cops switched to an 800 MHz system many years ago, Miller says, the radio station could follow the progress of stories with more accuracy. Now, while Baltimore reporters may hear the first county officers being called to a scene, they may not be able to hear backup units being dispatched. "The radios haven't stopped us from getting the story," Miller says, "but they have made it more difficult." Now that Baltimore City police will begin testing its new Motorola system this fall, Miller has "serious concerns." As a 50,000-watt station � the most powerful wattage licensed by the Federal Communications Commission � WBFF was set up to take the lead in emergency broadcasting. Miller is convinced a prime tool for protecting the public could be lost, using the dangers of hazardous chemicals as an example. All other stations follow its cue. One section of Baltimore is heavily industrialized, he points out, and a chemical plant blaze there is always a possibility. "With a scanner, if we heard the fire department talking about a toxic cloud traveling west at 4 miles per hour � we can go ahead and broadcast it." Without a scanner, however, the station would need to wait for city officials to relay the information. And if police departments take the extra step of encrypting messages � as the Philadelphia Police Department has suggested it will do �the media will be further hindered from responding to emergencies. "If messages are encrypted, we're done," Miller predicts. "Sooner or later, this will jeopardize public safety." The spot news photographer at the Philadelphia Daily News, Jim MacMillan, has little faith that local government will provide access to any useful channels once they program the media's scanners. "I might sound paranoid, but this is the city that dropped the bomb on MOVE." Timoney "played the drug card" at City Council hearings when he insisted criminals eavesdrop on confidential police conversations, MacMillan notes. During his five years at the Daily News, MacMillan has gone on at least a dozen ride-alongs with narcotics cops. "Perhaps it is a limited survey, but I've never seen them take a scanner off anyone," he says. "But if [privacy] is so important, how can waiting three years be an acceptable solution?" he asks. "I understand the need for security � if the current system needs attention, I'm all for giving it. But we don't need to spend $50 million to revolutionize the thing." And with technology changing so rapidly, one wonders whether "state-of-the-art" even means anything. Procurement Commissioner Applebaum says Motorola "guarantees" Philadelphia's system can be upgraded to incorporate any "enhancements." MacMillan isn't buying it. "Before this is even installed or paid for, it is going to be the eight-track cassette deck of police radio." Apparently some local TV and radio stations are feeling pollyannaish about their access to the new system. "We have a very good relationship with the city," says Steve Butler, news director for WKYW Radio. "I am optimistic we can work out a deal." KYW frequently rushes camera and sound crews to the scene of a fire or shooting based on scanned information, he acknowledges. But the news would go on without this source. "From our standpoint, we will rely on good reporters � which is how the good stories come about anyway," he says. � Just as the media depend on scanners, so do the approximately 15,000 neighborhood town watch volunteers in Philadelphia. On a regular basis, Ricks says, he and fellow volunteers successfully foil criminal offenders based on information gleaned over a scanner. "We don't follow police on scanners," he says. "We generate 911 calls." When a car thief takes off running, for instance, he may have traveled several blocks before police arrive. By scanning police conversations, town watch volunteers know when the cop is headed to the scene. They may intercept the car, Ricks says, and point the officer in the right direction. Ricks casually ticks off incident after incident in which town watch volunteers helped the police, thanks to radio monitoring. A scanner came in handy during a rape attempt in February and an auto theft in May. And a scanner was used to track down an officer when a neighbor spotted an abandoned gun. Ricks' voice is particularly animated when he remembers a robbery that occurred during April of last year. Ricks' suspicion became aroused while on town watch patrol one spring evening. He noticed a gang of teenage boys sauntering through the neighborhood around 10:30 p.m. That in itself was no big deal �it is common for teenagers to hang out in this Southwest Philly neighborhood. The strange thing was, these kids happened to be toting a set of bolt cutters. Now that's something most teens don't carry on their way to watch a movie. Less than an hour later, Ricks caught a message coming across the police scanner, as he stood watch at the intersection of 72nd and Buist streets. A dispatcher was calling an officer to investigate a "cargo theft in progress." Apparently, a trailer on the 7100 block of Elmwood Street was being burglarized. The dispatcher described the suspects � including details that sounded curiously familiar to Ricks. Moments later, the gang of boys from earlier in the evening blew down Buist Street and past Ricks. He immediately dialed 911 and directed the police right to them. Philadelphia officials express little sympathy for Ricks and his cohorts. The city doesn't want neighborhood town watches using scanners for "vigilante efforts," anyway, says Joseph James, a deputy commissioner in the Department of Public Property. "We don't need people driving around in their cars, trying to get involved in crime-fighting." In addition to the town watch groups, which are sanctioned by city government, there exists a whole cadre of scanner hobbyists � including retired police officers � who assist law enforcement agents. Log onto the Internet newsgroup phlscanner@onelist.com, and read about "average" citizens who use their scanners to help law enforcement every day. While driving home from church, one subscriber writes, he heard township police looking for a red Camaro with chrome wheels. Moments later, he noticed a vehicle matching that description, and used his cell phone to notify police. A high-rise apartment dweller writes that, on his scanner, he caught police discussing car thefts in the area. When he glanced out his window and down onto the apartment complex's parking lot, he saw two guys tampering with car locks. He phoned police and, while listening to his scanner, directed them to the precise location of the perps. On a regular basis, volunteers with the Oxford Circle Town Watch are able to help police based on the description of suspects heard over the scanner, says Lonnie Goldiner. Scanning has been an integral part of his life for 10 years. "I keep the thing on all night," he says. "I sleep with it next to my bed." Like Goldiner, other scanner enthusiasts contend the police are snuffing out a blazing source of light by denying average citizens access to radio communications. "The public shouldn't have a right to listen to surveillance and sensitive conversations, but Philadelphia has gone overboard by not allowing the public to listen to anything," says Joseph Cardani, who scans the radio lines when he's not busy working as a computer auditor for Jefferson Hospital. "The scanner-listening public has a long history of assisting the police department." � "I agree you can't stop technology, and I wouldn't want to," writes one subscriber to phlscanner@onelist.com. "But before you make your citizens pay MORE money for something, make sure it will work." The scanner monitoring station at WKYW television serves as the lifeline to the city's police department. And considering the system's inconsistent performance in other cities, it seems fair to raise questions about this major investment. Recent events in Cleveland stand out. Police there have used a $43 million Motorola 800 MHz system for two years. Since the digital radio network went on line, officers experience more dead spots than they did on the old system, according to the union representing patrol officers and radio dispatchers. It is not uncommon for the voices of Cleveland cops and dispatchers to fade out on one another, contends Robert Beck, president of that city's Police Patrolmen's Association. On May 25, the radio network experienced a total shutdown for two hours, he says. "It was a chaotic couple of hours," Beck recalls. "Although it was the first time the system completely failed, from my point of view the department should have seen this coming." However, Cleveland Mayor Michael White and Motorola deny the blackout lasted for more than a few minutes. Motorola's Cleveland Service Center downplays the incident in a May 25 memo to Rich Barton, deputy commissioner of City Power. The "database became unusable" at 11:32 a.m., while the company was upgrading it, according to the memo. By 11:48 a.m., Motorola writes, the system had been manually forced into "FailSoft," a fallback feature of the network that kicks in when trunking functions are lost. Cleveland's mayor supports Motorola's account of the events. "Last week is the first time we've had a system wide failure," White says in a press release. "It was down for a total of five minutes." Police union president Beck insists that White's response contradicts everything his union members reported back to him. (In fact, both men are stretching the truth, says Chris Quinn, a reporter who covers law enforcement for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A long-running feud between Beck and the Mayor is at an all-time high, he says, and the radio system is being used as a pawn.) Experiences in other cities should raise a red flag for Philadelphia officials as well. While the media has been content to regurgitate Motorola's own fluffy public relations lines, horror stories about these 800 MHz digital radio systems are surfacing at police and fire departments all over the country. A few years ago, the police department in Dade County, FL, purchased an 800 MHz digital radio system. It was, and still is, among the nation's most advanced digital radio systems. Based on the network's $43 million price tag, one might expect it to single-handedly rid Miami's streets of crime. Instead, the radio system mostly succeeded in ridding cops of their security. Soon after it went on line, officers complained that the audio quality sounded like there were "toilets flushing in the background." More frightening, however, were charges that the time required to convert voices to digital signals delayed calls by one-and-a-half seconds. During busy periods, county radio operators estimated that 25 percent of calls would back up the system � and potentially not get through. In Kansas City, emergency workers reported problems using a Motorola-designed 800 MHz trunked radio system soon after it went on line in 1998. Rarely a month passed when the city and Motorola did not duke it out over some incident "confirming" that the system was a bust. In one heart-stopping case, four firefighters became trapped in a burning building. They tried numerous times to radio for back-up, to no avail. Luckily, they escaped unharmed. Closer to home, Chester Township's 800 MHz network failed last year when a fuse blew at one of the transmission sites. The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police doesn't have any reservations about the Motorola system's uneven performance. "Everything we've heard up to this point is good," says Jim Wheeler, chief of staff for the police union. Perhaps Police Commissioner Timoney is unaware of problems with the radios, too. After all, he never mentioned them during his testimony before City Council last month, when he was requesting $51 million. Then again, council members failed to press him on the issue. Major glitches such as blackouts are not anticipated in Philadelphia because the 800 MHz system has "matured" over time, says Joseph James of the city's Public Property Department. For instance, some communities that adopted digital technology early failed to build enough transmission towers. That problem should be avoided in Philadelphia, once 10 existing towers throughout the city are rebuilt or constructed at a cost of about $11 million. The base of each tower will house a control room, designed to network with "central stations" in City Hall, the Roundhouse, the airport and the Office of Public Property. "Relative to the earlier systems, a lot of problems have been worked out," James says. "But there is a lot of software in 800 systems and no software is 100-percent perfect." � There is no denying that Philadelphia's future radio network has both clear benefits and drawbacks. There is a silver lining, though. The police department will not complete its conversion to digital for three more years. Just as Americans are counting on technology to solve our global warming crisis, members of the media are counting on technology to provide access to police communications. "I have to believe there is going to be a way to get around this," Inquirer writer Gibbons says. "It is just too important a tool for us, as reporters," to lose. As 800 MHz digital systems become more prevalent in the marketplace, manufacturers will invest the money to develop a trunk tracker capable of scanning a digital system, says Bob Grove, publisher of the on line magazine Monitoring Times. Even Public Property Commissioner James admits scanning technology could outpace this $51 million gadget. "Scanners will develop over time," he says. For the sake of the public good, Jim MacMillan hopes they are right. "When I first started researching [Philadelphia's future radio system], I approached it from the perspective of a journalist who needs scanners to do my job," he says. "Now, I'm looking at it as a taxpayer who will be footing the bill."