Littlestown Police
Adams, Pennsylvania
How we verified this
As of August 2026 RadioReference lists "Littlestown PD Tac" and both Adams County police dispatch talkgroups as fully encrypted on the South Central Interoperability Network.
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Adams County Context
Littlestown Police isn't an outlier here: 13 of the 16 public-safety agencies we track in Adams County are fully encrypted (81%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Adams County → County encryption overview →
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Littlestown Police radio encrypted?
Yes — Littlestown Police's radio system runs on 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 Littlestown Police on a police scanner?
No. Littlestown Police has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Littlestown Police encrypt their radio?
Officer safety and operational security are the reasons agencies give. What rarely comes with that explanation is Adams 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 Adams County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes. Whoever made this call for Littlestown Police can also unmake it; there's no technical lock-in. The approach that has worked elsewhere combines public-records requests, direct council pressure, and a coordinated local coalition.
What can I do about Littlestown Police encryption?
Contact the officials who oversee Littlestown 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 Adams County, or start one, since agencies respond differently to organized, sustained pressure than to individual complaints.