Police Department Partially Encrypted Discovered via RadioReference

Hills Township Police

Hill, Texas

How we verified this

Entry maps to Hillsboro Police (alpha tags 'HILLS PD'); all 5 of its talkgroups on the Hill County trunked system are flagged Enc (matching the listed count), but the county page still lists an unencrypted conventional Hillsboro PD dispatch on 155.865, so full encryption is not supported.

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 Some talkgroups encrypted; dispatch audible per verification
Technical Details Inferred from RadioReference

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.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hills Township Police radio encrypted?

Yes — Hills Township 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 Hills Township Police on a police scanner?

Partially. Hills Township 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 Hills Township Police encrypt their radio?

Ask why, and the answer is usually officer safety, sometimes operational security. What is harder to obtain is any documented case in Hill County where an open channel caused harm. The costs need no such documentation: reporting on police department response slows down, and mutual-aid coordination gets more awkward, immediately.

Can Hill 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 Hills Township Police encryption?

Start local: show up when Hill County officials discuss the budget for Hills Township Police, and ask specifically why full encryption was chosen over a delayed feed or tactical-only approach. File a FOIA request for recordings or policy documents, and connect with others nearby who want the same information — a coordinated ask carries more weight than an individual one.

Data source: RadioReference Wiki

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.

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