Police Department Fully Encrypted

Bernville Township Police

Berks, Pennsylvania

How we verified this

Berks County system police dispatch and regional zone talkgroups are all flagged Enc on RR; Bernville (a borough, not a township — name needs correction) has no individually listed talkgroup, so confirmation is at the county-dispatch level.

Checked against a primary source on 2026-08-01: 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 All Operations
Technical Details P25 Phase II AES-256

Verified Talkgroup Data

Verified Aug 1, 2026
0 Total Talkgroups
0 Encrypted
0 Unencrypted
0% Encrypted
Radio System: Berks County Trunking System

Berks County Context

Bernville Township Police isn't an outlier here: 35 of the 36 public-safety agencies we track in Berks County are fully encrypted (97%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.

What This Means

All traffic, including the day-to-day dispatch that used to be the public's window into police activity, now runs encrypted. Nothing from this department is receivable.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bernville Township Police radio encrypted?

Yes. Bernville Township Police uses P25 AES-256 encryption. All traffic, including the day-to-day dispatch that used to be the public's window into police activity, now runs encrypted. Nothing from this department is receivable.

Can I listen to Bernville Township Police on a police scanner?

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

Why did Bernville 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 Bernville Township Police to know what was happening nearby.

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

What can I do about Bernville Township Police encryption?

File a FOIA request for Bernville 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 Berks 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.

Data source: RadioReference Wiki + RadioReference API (verified)

Checked against a primary source on 2026-08-01 — see "How we verified this" above. Encryption status changes; confirm at RadioReference before relying on it.

Advertisement