Fairbanks Police Department
Fairbanks-North Star, Alaska
How we verified this
As of August 2026 every Fairbanks Police talkgroup RadioReference lists on Alaska Land Mobile Radio (ALMR) is encrypted — "23102 Fairbks PD M — D Enc" through "23106 Fairbks Det — D Enc" — while Fairbanks Fire ("23416 Fairbks FD — D") remains in the clear.
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Fairbanks-North Star County Context
Fairbanks Police Department isn't an outlier here: 2 of the 2 public-safety agencies we track in Fairbanks-North Star County are fully encrypted (100%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Fairbanks-North Star County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
Everything this agency transmits is encrypted, dispatch included. For anyone outside the department — residents, reporters, neighbouring responders — the channel is simply silent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fairbanks Police Department radio encrypted?
Yes. Fairbanks Police Department uses P25 AES-256 encryption. Everything this agency transmits is encrypted, dispatch included. For anyone outside the department — residents, reporters, neighbouring responders — the channel is simply silent.
Can I listen to Fairbanks Police Department on a police scanner?
No. Fairbanks Police Department has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Fairbanks Police Department encrypt their radio?
The standard justification nationwide is officer safety and operational security, regardless of whether a documented local incident ever required it. The tradeoff that follows is consistent too: public oversight drops, and reporters lose the ability to track police department response as it happens.
Can Fairbanks-North Star County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes — nothing about the underlying radio technology forces this. It's a decision Fairbanks-North Star County officials made and can revisit, and other communities have pushed departments back toward open channels through sustained council pressure and coalition-building.
What can I do about Fairbanks Police Department encryption?
Three things carry weight, in this order: a public-records request for Fairbanks Police Department's encryption policy and radio recordings, a turn at the microphone during Fairbanks-North Star County budget discussions, and finding the other people locally already asking the same question. Individually these are easy to deflect; together they are not.