Nashua Police Blocking Access To Police Broadcasts For Safety

NASHUA, NH — The Nashua Police Department this week is transitioning to fully encrypted radio transmissions for the officers. Audio of officers speaking to each other and police dispatch will no longer be heard over the airwaves by the general public. Previously, citizens could listen using scanner and apps on their phone such as Broadcastify.com.

In an interview with Nashua Police Chief Michael Carignan, he said the decision to switch to encryption was driven to ensure the safety of his officers. In recent incidents, Carignan said, people were listening to the radio broadcast and sharing the officer's specific location and movement play by play on social media.

Several New Hampshire police departments including Manchester and Hudson, have moved to fully encrypted radios. There is virtually no cost effective — or legal — way to listen to the encrypted radios. The product used is a Motorola P25 Phase 1 trunked system.

In an effort to improve transparency with the citizens, Manchester police instituted a dispatch call log which shows basic information including time, address, and type of call. The log is delayed 30 minutes behind real time for the protection of the officers.

Carignan stressed he is not trying to hide information but is trying to protect the officers' safety. When asked about the dispatch call log which Manchester uses, he was not familiar with the process but said he will quickly look into it to see if it is an option.

The radio encryption began on Tuesday and will be transitioning to full encryption this week. Radios were required to be reprogrammed and some switched out.

Carignan stressed the instant communication of information on social media sites by people using scanner apps was the driving factor potentially endangering his officers.