Riverwood Police
Lake, Illinois
How we verified this
As of August 2026 RadioReference's Lake County listing states Riverwoods Police are dispatched by Deerfield Police on encrypted talkgroup 33373.
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Lake County Context
Riverwood Police isn't an outlier here: 17 of the 30 public-safety agencies we track in Lake County are fully encrypted (57%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Lake County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
There is no partial access here: routine dispatch is encrypted alongside everything else, so a scanner picks up nothing from this agency at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Riverwood Police radio encrypted?
Yes — Riverwood Police's radio system runs on P25 AES-256 encryption. There is no partial access here: routine dispatch is encrypted alongside everything else, so a scanner picks up nothing from this agency at all.
Can I listen to Riverwood Police on a police scanner?
No. Riverwood Police has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Riverwood Police encrypt their radio?
Departments typically point to officer safety and operational security. Neither claim tends to come with evidence specific to Lake County; what's verifiable is what's lost — journalists can't monitor police department activity in real time, and coordination with agencies that stay unencrypted gets harder.
Can Lake County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes, and some departments already have. Because encryption here is a choice rather than a technical necessity, the path back runs through the same people who chose it: budget hearings, records requests, and residents who keep asking in public.
What can I do about Riverwood Police encryption?
Contact the officials who oversee Riverwood Police's budget directly and ask why full encryption was chosen over partial alternatives. Pair that with a FOIA request for recordings and policy records, and look for an existing coalition in Lake County, or start one, since agencies respond differently to organized, sustained pressure than to individual complaints.