Columbia Borough Police
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
How we verified this
RR shows the Columbia Borough PD private talkgroup (TG 3170) and all five LCWC county police dispatch talkgroups flagged encrypted, so all of this agency's police traffic is encrypted.
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Lancaster County Context
Columbia Borough Police isn't an outlier here: 33 of the 36 public-safety agencies we track in Lancaster County are fully encrypted (92%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Lancaster County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
This agency encrypts all of its radio communications, including routine dispatch. The public, journalists, and even other first responders can't monitor its activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Columbia Borough Police radio encrypted?
Yes — Columbia Borough Police's radio system runs on P25 AES-256 encryption. This agency encrypts all of its radio communications, including routine dispatch. The public, journalists, and even other first responders can't monitor its activity.
Can I listen to Columbia Borough Police on a police scanner?
No. Columbia Borough Police has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Columbia Borough Police encrypt their radio?
Officer safety and operational security are the reasons agencies give. What rarely comes with that explanation is Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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 Columbia Borough Police encryption?
Contact the officials who oversee Columbia Borough 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 Lancaster County, or start one, since agencies respond differently to organized, sustained pressure than to individual complaints.