Soledad Police
Monterey, California
How we verified this
As of August 2026 RadioReference lists the South Cities Police dispatch and tactical talkgroups that carry Soledad Police on the Monterey County P25 system, plus Soledad PD's interagency talkgroup, as encrypted.
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Monterey County Context
Soledad Police isn't an outlier here: 15 of the 16 public-safety agencies we track in Monterey County are fully encrypted (94%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Monterey County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
Every channel this agency runs, including day-to-day dispatch, is encrypted. That shuts out the public and local reporters, and it can complicate coordination with nearby agencies that still expect to hear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Soledad Police radio encrypted?
Yes. Soledad Police uses P25 AES-256 encryption. Every channel this agency runs, including day-to-day dispatch, is encrypted. That shuts out the public and local reporters, and it can complicate coordination with nearby agencies that still expect to hear it.
Can I listen to Soledad Police on a police scanner?
No. Soledad Police has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Soledad Police encrypt their radio?
Agencies cite officer safety and operational security. Those are assertions rather than findings — no local evidence is typically produced — while the effects are concrete and land straight away on anyone who relied on hearing Soledad Police to know what was happening nearby.
Can Monterey County reverse the encryption decision?
It can. The radios support open and encrypted operation equally well, so this is a configuration and a policy, not a constraint — and policies set by Monterey County officials are policies those officials can revisit when constituents press for it.
What can I do about Soledad Police encryption?
Three things carry weight, in this order: a public-records request for Soledad Police's encryption policy and radio recordings, a turn at the microphone during Monterey County budget discussions, and finding the other people locally already asking the same question. Individually these are easy to deflect; together they are not.