Police Department Fully Encrypted Discovered via RadioReference

Marysville Township Police

Snohomish, Washington

How we verified this

As of August 2026 RadioReference flags all three Marysville Police talkgroups on Snohomish County's Sno911 system — Police 1 Dispatch, Police 2 and Police Tac 1 — as encrypted; the agency is the City of Marysville police department, as Washington has no townships.

Checked against a primary source on 2026-08-09: 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 Discovered via RadioReference (3 encrypted talkgroups)
Technical Details Inferred from RadioReference

Verified Talkgroup Data

Verified Aug 9, 2026 Low confidence
3 Total Talkgroups
3 Encrypted
0 Unencrypted
100% Encrypted
Radio System: Sno911
View 3 talkgroups
DEC Alpha Tag Description Status
735 Marysville PD 1 Marysville Police 1 Dispatch Encrypted
737 Marysville PD 2 Marysville Police 2 Encrypted
739 Marysville PD 3 Marysville Police Tac 1 Encrypted

Snohomish County Context

Marysville Township Police isn't an outlier here: 2 of the 2 public-safety agencies we track in Snohomish County are fully encrypted (100%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.

What This Means

There is no partial access here: routine dispatch is encrypted alongside everything else, so a scanner picks up nothing from this agency at all.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Marysville Township Police radio encrypted?

Yes — Marysville Township Police's radio system runs on P25 AES-256 encryption. There is no partial access here: routine dispatch is encrypted alongside everything else, so a scanner picks up nothing from this agency at all.

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

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

Why did Marysville Township Police encrypt their radio?

Departments typically point to officer safety and operational security. Neither claim tends to come with evidence specific to Snohomish 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 Snohomish County reverse the encryption decision?

Yes. Whoever made this call for Marysville Township 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 Marysville Township Police encryption?

Ask for the paperwork first — the policy that authorised encryption for Marysville Township 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 Snohomish County with you.

Data source: RadioReference Wiki + RadioReference API (verified)

Checked against a primary source on 2026-08-09 — see "How we verified this" above. Encryption status changes; confirm at RadioReference before relying on it.

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