Montrose Township Police
Montrose, Colorado
How we verified this
The agency is the Montrose Police Department (Montrose County has no "township" force), and as of August 2026 three of its four talkgroups on the State of Colorado DTRS are flagged "D Enc" — "Montrose PD 1 | Police 1 Dispatch", "Montrose PD 3 | Police 3 Car/Car" and "Montrose PD Tac | Police Tactical" — while "Montrose PD 2 | Police 2 Animal Control" remains plain "D" and in the clear.
Encryption Details
Montrose County Context
Montrose Township Police isn't an outlier here: 2 of the 3 public-safety agencies we track in Montrose County are fully encrypted (67%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Montrose County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
Coverage here is uneven — parts of the system are locked and parts are open, so a scanner gives you an incomplete rather than an empty picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Montrose Township Police radio encrypted?
Yes. Montrose Township Police uses P25 AES-256 encryption. Coverage here is uneven — parts of the system are locked and parts are open, so a scanner gives you an incomplete rather than an empty picture.
Can I listen to Montrose Township Police on a police scanner?
Partially. Montrose Township Police encrypts some of its talkgroups while leaving others open, so some channels may still be accessible. Check RadioReference for specific talkgroup status.
Why did Montrose Township 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 Montrose Township Police to know what was happening nearby.
Can Montrose County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes — nothing about the underlying radio technology forces this. It's a decision Montrose 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 Montrose Township Police encryption?
File a FOIA request for Montrose Township Police's radio recordings and encryption-decision paperwork, then show up to speak at a council or commission meeting. Find other residents or journalists in Montrose County who want the same access — state legislation requiring public radio access is the longer-term fix, but organized local pressure is what usually moves the needle first.