LAPD Encryption Deep Dive: How America's Second-Largest City Went Completely Dark
In 2019, LAPD completed full encryption of all radio traffic, making it the largest city department in the country to go entirely dark. The decision landed hard in a city with nearly 4 million residents, over $350 million in radio infrastructure built largely with public funds, and a news media ecosystem that had covered policing more extensively than anywhere else in America.
What LA listeners can still monitor after LAPD went dark
LAPD's full encryption isn't a "switch to a different scanner" problem—it's gone. But the adjacent unencrypted layer still works across LA: federal agencies, aviation at LAX and Burbank, LA-area amateur nets, wildfire air ops, and NOAA weather alerts. This is what Angelenos are actually tuning into now.
LAPD by the numbers
Encryption timeline
Los Angeles has a complex history of police radio technology, transitioning from open analog to encrypted digital across decades of infrastructure investment.
$235 million bond measure
Los Angeles voters approve a $235 million bond to build two new dispatch centers (metropolitan and San Fernando Valley) and replace the aging Master Radio System.
Digital transition begins
After the Lakers NBA championship parade, LAPD switches from analog to digital frequencies. Public monitoring via standard analog scanners ends, though digital scanners could still access communications.
California Highway Patrol goes encrypted
CHP's statewide encryption sets the tone for California law enforcement, demonstrating that even massive state-level agencies would pursue full encryption.
LAPD full encryption
LAPD completes full encryption of all radio traffic, becoming the largest city department in the US to encrypt. Media and community groups protest but fail to stop the rollout.
Regional cascade
LA County Sheriff, Long Beach, and most surrounding departments follow LAPD into full encryption. Greater Los Angeles becomes one of the most encrypted regions in the country.
The $350 million+ radio infrastructure
Los Angeles has spent more on police radio infrastructure than many cities spend on their entire public safety budgets. That investment was later cited to justify encryption — the argument being that the city needed to "protect" what it had built.
1992 bond: $235 million
Voters approved funds for two new dispatch centers and a replacement Master Radio System. The ballot measure didn't mention encryption because encryption wasn't in the picture yet.
LA-RICS federal grant: $117 million
The U.S. Department of Commerce funded the broadband network for regional interoperability. The grant was designed to improve coordination among agencies, not to hide communications from the public that paid for it.
Ongoing infrastructure
Additional millions spent on 63 fixed broadband towers, 15 portable units, and private voice radio network serving 34,000 personnel across 88 cities.
Voters approved bonds and the federal government issued grants to build this infrastructure for public safety coordination. It now blocks the public from monitoring how the department uses it.
Impact on media coverage
No city in the country has more news infrastructure than Los Angeles. LAPD encryption cut across all of it.
News coverage
The LA Times, the region's paper of record, lost real-time access to police activity. Breaking news coverage now depends entirely on LAPD press releases and the Media Relations Division.
TV news helicopter operations
Los Angeles pioneered helicopter news coverage of police pursuits and breaking news. Without scanner access, stations can't deploy helicopters until LAPD chooses to notify them.
Entertainment industry documentation
Reality TV, documentaries, and true crime productions historically used scanner access to capture authentic police activity. That window into LAPD operations is now closed.
Freelance journalism
Independent "stringers" who sold breaking news footage and tips to outlets have lost their primary tool for knowing where news is happening.
Wildfire evacuation coverage, helicopter news operations, documentary production, and freelance journalism all relied on scanner access. LAPD's 2019 encryption removed it simultaneously.
Wildfire coverage
Before 2019, media monitored police radio for evacuation orders, covered road closures in real time, and independently verified where fire perimeters were being drawn. Residents in the path of a fire could track police activity in their neighborhood.
Since encryption, all of that runs through official announcements. Reporters arrive after the fact. Evacuation boundaries can't be independently checked until LAPD confirms them. People in fire zones are operating on less information than they had before.
California fire seasons have grown longer and more destructive. Encryption cut public access at the wrong time.
2020 protests: surveillance records
While blocking the public from monitoring police radio, LAPD was running the opposite operation — monitoring the public through social media.
Dataminr
Official emails showed LAPD worked with Dataminr, a controversial social media surveillance company, to monitor protesters' and journalists' social media accounts during the civil uprisings. The department initially denied using the system during BLM protests, but records contradicted that claim.
ABTShield pilot program
LAPD piloted social media monitoring software that collected millions of tweets in October and November 2020 from users throughout the United States. A large portion of posts collected were about police reform protests.
Independent review findings
The National Policing Institute conducted an independent assessment of LAPD's response to mass demonstrations between May 27 and June 7, 2020, documenting issues with protest response that the public couldn't monitor in real-time due to encryption.
LAPD justified encryption partly on privacy grounds. During the same period, the department collected millions of social media posts from Americans across the country. The public can't monitor police. Police monitored the public.
The Southern California cascade
LAPD's 2019 decision was followed by a wave of similar moves across the region. Greater Los Angeles is now one of the most thoroughly encrypted areas in the country.
| Agency | Status | Population Served |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles PD | Fully Encrypted | 4 million |
| LA County Sheriff | Fully Encrypted | 10+ million (county) |
| Long Beach PD | Fully Encrypted | 465,000 |
| Pasadena PD | Encrypted | 140,000 |
| Santa Monica PD | Encrypted | 90,000 |
| California Highway Patrol | Fully Encrypted | Statewide |
Because the surrounding agencies moved in the same direction, there are no accessible neighboring jurisdictions to tune instead. The entire region went dark in a short window.
LA-RICS
LA-RICS (Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communication System) consolidated 40 aging radio networks across 88 cities into a single unified system, built with public funds. That unified system is also what made it possible to encrypt communications region-wide.
The fragmented patchwork of 40 aging networks made interoperability difficult. The consolidated system solved that problem. It also made regional encryption straightforward to implement.
What encryption removed
The concrete effects of LAPD's 2019 decision touch public safety, journalism, research, and community oversight.
Real-time emergency information
During active shooters, pursuits, or natural disasters, residents cannot monitor police response or make informed safety decisions.
Independent journalism
Breaking news coverage now depends entirely on what LAPD chooses to share. Independent verification of police accounts is impossible.
Historical documentation
After the 1992 LA riots, scanner recordings provided a complete independent record of events. That kind of documentation is no longer possible for future incidents.
Community oversight
Copwatch and community accountability organizations lost a primary tool for documenting police behavior in marginalized communities.
Traffic and safety research
Researchers studying accident patterns, crime trends, and police response times lost access to real-time data.
Wildfire situational awareness
In a region with increasing fire danger, residents lost a critical tool for tracking evacuation orders and safe routes.
What you can still access
For those looking for any form of real-time police radio in Los Angeles, the options are essentially gone:
Anyone wanting to monitor LAPD activity waits for official press releases from the Media Relations Division.
What you can do
LAPD encryption has been in place since 2019 and isn't going to reverse easily. Leverage points still exist:
- Support SB 719, the California bill that would require media access to encrypted police radio statewide
- Contact Los Angeles City Council, which has oversight authority and the ability to mandate a media access program similar to San Francisco's
- Use the California Public Records Act to request internal documents on encryption decisions, cost analyses, and implementation planning
- Subscribe to local outlets covering the access issue — the LA Times, LA Taco, and others have reported on encryption's effects on coverage
- California News Publishers Association, SPJ's national office, and the First Amendment Coalition have all engaged on California encryption issues
- When the absence of scanner access has a concrete effect on a story or incident, document the specific case and share it with journalists and council members
- Push for civilian oversight board authority to include a review of encryption policies
Take Action for Transparency
Your voice matters. Here are concrete ways to advocate for open police communications in your community.
Contact Your Representatives
Use our templates to email your local officials about police radio encryption policies.
Get StartedRead Case Studies
See how encryption has affected real communities - from Highland Park to Chicago.
View CasesSpread Awareness
Share evidence about police radio encryption with your network and community.
Public Testimony
Learn how to speak effectively at city council and public safety meetings.
Prepare to SpeakRelated resources
Sources & further reading
- City of Los Angeles: Bond measure and LA-RICS documentation
- LA-RICS Joint Powers Authority: Regional system specifications
- The Intercept: "LAPD Surveilled Gaza Protests Using This Social Media Tool"
- LA Taco: "Official Emails Show LAPD Worked With Dataminr During George Floyd Protests"
- Brennan Center for Justice: "Documents Reveal LAPD Collected Millions of Tweets"
- National Policing Institute: "Review of LAPD's Response to First Amendment Assemblies"
- RadioReference Forums: LAPD encryption discussions and technical documentation