Public access to police radio traffic will soon be a thing of the past in Contra Costa County as encryption is set to be turned on for all agencies within the next 1-2 weeks–this also impacts Alameda County law enforcement.
This means, no one outside of law enforcement will hear police chatter over the radio – something the Antioch Police Department and Brentwood Police Department have been doing since 2015.
In an email last week, the City of Oakley confirmed their police radio traffic is going dark due to a state law, but were quick to point out Oakley is not the only agency switching over, but rather this is a comprehensive effort going on for the Counties of Contra Costa and Alameda.
“The Oakley Police Department is authorized by the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) to access the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), a computer network that provides law enforcement and criminal justice agencies with access to a variety of databases that contain data such as a person’s identification information, criminal history, criminal record, and driving record information. One way that officers access CLETS is by using the police radio system to communicate and verify information about a driver, suspect, etc. Currently our radios are not encrypted and anyone with a commercial scanner or a smartphone scanning app can listen and take down this information.
In October of 2020, the California Department of Justice notified every police department in the State of a policy update that mandates the transmission of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) be encrypted to protect the privacy and identity of any person whose information is broadcast over a police radio frequency. The encryption requirement is to not only prevent potential identity theft, but also to give privacy to victims of crime.
To comply with this State mandate, the Oakley Police Department has been working with the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority (EBRCSA) to encrypt our radio transmissions. The totality of the encryption process is expected to be completed over the next week or two,” said Danielle Navarro, assisted city manager.
While the move to encrypt will impact law enforcement, rumblings emerged that Contra Costa County Fire Protection District was also going to go radio silent for the public — which is not true.
Fire Chief Lewis Broschard confirmed they will not be impacted and will remain “status quo”.
While no exact date for when radios go dark to the public was given, a timeline of August-September 2025 was provided per the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority.
According to the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority, at its May 30, 2025 meeting,
The radio shops installed the encryption keys on the consoles in early 2024 and anticipate completing the installation of the encryption keys on the subscriber units in August 2025. Once the encryption keys are installed, the EBRCSA will activate encryption system-wide and those without an authorized key will no longer be able to hear radio traffic on the newly encrypted channels. Staff anticipates that all law enforcement agencies will have purchased encryption keys by July 2025 allowing system-wide encryption to occur in August or September 2025.
It continues:
Understandably, the loss of publicly broadcasted radio traffic will be a cause for concern for some community members including the media, radio scanner aficionados, amongst others. Encrypted radio traffic not only complies with CA DOJ requirement by providing security of CJI and PII, it also provides for security of law enforcement operations and enhances the safety of field personnel. Fire Department radio traffic will not be encrypted at this time.
The proposed radio encryption policy (Attachment 1) addresses the CA DOJ mandate by:
- Requiring the use of the 256-bit AES for all encrypted radio transmissions.
- Establishing guidelines for secure encryption key management.
- Outlining the responsibilities of EBRCSA member agencies in implementing encryption.
- Providing a framework for agencies that wish to maintain unencrypted channels under controlled circumstances.
• Addressing the need for both security and transparency.
EBRCSA acknowledges the competing interests between the need to protect sensitive information through encryption and the public’s desire for access to information about law enforcement activities. The proposed policy seeks to balance these interests by:
- Providing security of CJI and PII through encryption
- Recommending that agencies develop policies for releasing information to the public and media in a timely manner that does not compromise officer safety or investigations
This week, it is being reported that the Oakland Police Department plans to go radio silent and the public will not have access to their police radio traffic.
Meanwhile, back in March 2023, Senator Josh Becker introduced the “Law Enforcement Communications Transparency Act” which seeks to restore a 90+ year old California Policy of allowing access to the media and the public. His bill seeking to restore police radio traffic to the media and public did not go far.
About the EBRCSA:
Participating Agencies in Contra Costa County include: City of Antioch, City of Brentwood, City of Clayton, City of Concord, Town of Danville, City of El Cerrito, City of Hercules, City of Lafayette, City of Martinez, Town of Moraga, City of Oakley, City of Pinole, City of Pittsburg, City of Pleasant Hill, City of Richmond, City of San Pablo, City of San Ramon, City of Walnut Creek
Participating Agencies in Alameda County include: City of Alameda, City of Albany, City of Berkely, City of Dublin, City of Emeryville, City of Fremont, City of Hayward, City of Livermore, City of Newark, City of Pleasanton, City of San Leandro, City of Union City,
Per the Joint Powers Authority Agreement, the Authority is administered by a Board of Directors consisting of 23 Directors and their respective alternates. Directors and alternates are appointed to ensure equal representation from both counties as follows:
- David Haubert – primary
Nate Miley – alternate
Alameda County Board of Supervisors - Pace Stokes – primary
Daniel McNaughton – alternate
Alameda County Sheriff’s Offic - Susan Muranishi – primary
Tim Dupuis – alternate
Alameda County Administrator - Ken Carlson – primary
Candace Andersen – alternate
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors - Mike Casten – primary
Jose Beltran – alternate
Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office - Monica Nino – primary
Marc Shorr – alternate
Contra Costa County Administrator - Vacant – primary
Maureen Toms – alternate
Contra Costa County Elected - Karen Stepper – primary
Jim Diaz – alternate
Contra Costa County Elected - Shannon Shaw – primary
Vacant – alternate
Contra Costa County Elected - Matt Rodriguez
City of San Pablo
Contra Costa County City Managers - Vacant
Contra Costa County City Managers - Justin Ezell
City of Concord
Contra Costa County City Managers - Mark Salinas – primary
Vacant – alternate
Alameda County Elected - Vacant – primary
Vacant – alternate
Alameda County Elected - Vacant – primary
Noel Gallo – alternate
City of Oakland – Alameda County Elected
- Gerry Beaudin
City of Pleasanton
Alameda County City Managers - Jestin Johnson
City of Oakland
Alameda County City Manager - Vacant
Alameda County City Managers - Angela Averiett
City of San Leandro
Alameda County Police Chiefs - Damon Covington – primary
Matthew Nichelini – alternate
City of Oakland
Alameda County Fire Chiefs - Jon King
Town of Moraga
Contra Costa County Police Chiefs - Jonas Aguiar
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
Contra Costa County Fire Chiefs - Roberto Filice
Police Chief
East Bay Regional Park District
