The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has unencrypted the main radio channel so people with scanners can now know what is going on in their community.
“I think that people have the right to know for their and their family’s safety and to help law enforcement fight crime in their neighborhood” stated Sheriff Matt Bayles.
“One of the biggest weapons that law enforcement has against crime are the eyes and ears of the residents in the community. I can’t tell you how many times we have had foot chases with suspects, where people with scanners call in and give us information after seeing the suspect running, that has then led to the capture of that suspect.”
“If we have an operation going on or we feel that suspects have scanners for some reason, we have the ability to change to a tactical channel or dispatch can send information directly to the deputies’ computers to keep the information private. There is no reason to keep our citizens in the dark about what is going on in their neighborhoods”