After police radios go encrypted, some traffic still available over open airwaves

Most urgent calls still being dispatched to first responders over open airways

South Dakota’s largest county and city police agencies last month moved their radio transmissions to encrypted broadcast channels.

The switch — touted as a benefit to officer and victim safety — hasn’t resulted in publicly-accessible police scanners going completely dark, however.

At least not in Minnehaha County where the 911 dispatchers who alert first responders when they are needed have continued to broadcast some of the most urgent calls they receive over the open airways.

NEWS: Police agencies in South Dakota's largest cities encrypting emergency response radio traffic

And that’s because other agencies that rely on the 911 dispatch center in Sioux Falls, like area ambulance providers or the South Dakota Highway Patrol, might not have their radios preset to the encrypted channels the Sioux Falls Police Department or Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office use.

“Broadcasting emergency situations on non-encrypted channels informs other public safety agencies that may be in the area and in a position to help with the situation,” Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum told The Dakota Scout this week.

Thum said that though a majority of law enforcement radio transmissions are encrypted in Minnehaha County, emergency calls are broadcast on multiple channels — including non-encrypted channels. That means the initial call from the 911 dispatch center out to first responders can be heard by anyone with access to a scanner.

The call types still being dispatched over open channels include shootings, stabbings, armed robberies, hold-up alarms, sexual assaults, attempted suicides, burglaries, weapons calls, and high-priority medical emergencies.