Orwigsburg Police
Schuylkill, Pennsylvania
How we verified this
As of August 2026 RadioReference states that "all law enforcement dispatch operations are on the new county VHF trunked system and are encrypted full time" in Schuylkill County, while still listing an analog "Orwigsburg PD Tac" channel (151.055 MHz) in the clear.
Encryption Details
Schuylkill County Context
Schuylkill County is a mixed picture: 6 of 16 agencies we track here are fully encrypted (38%), which means some neighboring departments are still audible on a scanner.
See every agency we track in Schuylkill County → County encryption overview →
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 Orwigsburg Police radio encrypted?
Yes — Orwigsburg Police'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 Orwigsburg Police on a police scanner?
Partially. Orwigsburg Police encrypts some of its talkgroups while leaving others open, so some channels may still be accessible. Check RadioReference for specific talkgroup status.
Why did Orwigsburg Police encrypt their radio?
Departments typically point to officer safety and operational security. Neither claim tends to come with evidence specific to Schuylkill County; what's verifiable is what's lost — journalists can't monitor police department activity in real time, and coordination with agencies that stay unencrypted gets harder.
Can Schuylkill County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes, and some departments already have. Because encryption here is a choice rather than a technical necessity, the path back runs through the same people who chose it: budget hearings, records requests, and residents who keep asking in public.
What can I do about Orwigsburg Police encryption?
Ask for the paperwork first — the policy that authorised encryption for Orwigsburg Police, and the recordings themselves — because a specific request is harder to wave away than a general complaint. Then take what you learn to a council meeting, and bring others from Schuylkill County with you.