Maryland Emergency Management Authority
Statewide, Maryland
How we verified this
As of August 2026 the Maryland Department of Emergency Management's regional talkgroups on FiRST are in the clear ("7801 DEM Centrl1 — T") while three administrative channels are encrypted — "7811 DEM Admin — T Enc", "7813 DEM Comm — Communications Tech — T Enc" and "7818 DEM PSAP — T Enc".
Encryption Details
What This Means
Some of this agency's traffic is encrypted and some is not. What you can hear depends on the channel and on what the department is doing at the time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Maryland Emergency Management Authority radio encrypted?
Yes — Maryland Emergency Management Authority's radio system runs on P25 AES-256 encryption. Some of this agency's traffic is encrypted and some is not. What you can hear depends on the channel and on what the department is doing at the time.
Can I listen to Maryland Emergency Management Authority on a police scanner?
Partially. Maryland Emergency Management Authority encrypts some of its talkgroups while leaving others open, so some channels may still be accessible. Check RadioReference for specific talkgroup status.
Why did Maryland Emergency Management Authority encrypt their radio?
Officer safety and operational security are the reasons agencies give. What rarely comes with that explanation is Statewide County-specific evidence that open communications ever caused a problem, while the loss of public oversight and the friction with still-unencrypted neighboring agencies are both immediate and real.
Can Statewide County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes. Encryption is a policy choice made by department leadership or elected officials, not a technical requirement, so it can be reversed the same way. Public pressure, city council advocacy, and organized local coalitions have reversed encryption decisions elsewhere.
What can I do about Maryland Emergency Management Authority encryption?
Contact the officials who oversee Maryland Emergency Management Authority'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 Statewide County, or start one, since agencies respond differently to organized, sustained pressure than to individual complaints.