Police Department Fully Encrypted Discovered via RadioReference

Highland Park Police

Middlesex, New Jersey

How we verified this

As of August 2026 RadioReference's Middlesex County/Sayreville system listing flags all five Highland Park police talkgroups — dispatch and four tactical channels — as fully encrypted, while the borough's fire, EMS, interop and OEM talkgroups remain in the clear.

Checked against a primary source on 2026-08-09: radioreference.com . Encryption status changes without notice — confirm the current picture on the live RadioReference database before relying on it.

What you can do right now

Encryption Details

Encryption Type P25 AES-256
Scope Discovered via RadioReference (5 encrypted talkgroups)
Technical Details Inferred from RadioReference

Verified Talkgroup Data

Verified Aug 9, 2026 Low confidence
5 Total Talkgroups
5 Encrypted
0 Unencrypted
100% Encrypted
Radio System: Middlesex County/Sayreville
View 5 talkgroups
DEC Alpha Tag Description Status
7101 HPPD Dispatch Police Dispatch Encrypted
7121 HPPD Tac 7121 Police Tactical Encrypted
7125 HPPD Tac 7125 Police Tactical Encrypted
7141 HPPD Tac 7141 Police Tactical Encrypted
7145 HPPD Tac 7145 Police Tactical Encrypted

Middlesex County Context

Highland Park Police isn't an outlier here: 15 of the 17 public-safety agencies we track in Middlesex County are fully encrypted (88%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.

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.

See encryption status nationwide Interactive map showing which US police departments have encrypted their radios. Open the encryption map →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Highland Park Police radio encrypted?

Yes. Highland Park Police 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 Highland Park Police on a police scanner?

No. Highland Park Police has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.

Why did Highland Park 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 Highland Park Police to know what was happening nearby.

Can Middlesex 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 Middlesex County officials are policies those officials can revisit when constituents press for it.

What can I do about Highland Park Police encryption?

Three things carry weight, in this order: a public-records request for Highland Park Police's encryption policy and radio recordings, a turn at the microphone during Middlesex County budget discussions, and finding the other people locally already asking the same question. Individually these are easy to deflect; together they are not.

Data source: RadioReference Wiki + RadioReference API (verified)

Checked against a primary source on 2026-08-09 — see "How we verified this" above. Encryption status changes; confirm at RadioReference before relying on it.

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