The NYPD is set to fully encrypt its radio broadcasts by the end of next year as part of a nearly $400 million planned system upgrade — setting off alarm among local politicians and press advocates.
The City Council Public Safety Committee held an hours-long oversight hearing Monday about the project, which has already been set in motion by blocking the public from certain NYPD frequencies.
“We are the media capital of the world, if we just cut off the media to any interest encryption, completely, it would be really counterproductive,” New York City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) said during the hearing.
The NYPD’s massive network of radio communications is expected to go dark by the end of 2024 as the department switches from an analog to a digital network, according to Chief of Information Technology Robert Beltran.
That means journalists — and the public — would be blocked from the radio channels, raising concerns about transparency and press freedom.
But Beltran said the switch was necessary to protect cops and the personal details of crime victims, arguing during the hearing that the police department can be trusted to get important information out to the public in a timely manner.
“The department provides information to reporters many times a day every day. We also have hundreds of digital media officers assigned to precincts that are also updating information on social media in real time,” he said.
But some advocates like journalist Todd Maisel, the founder of NY Media Consortium, were not buying it.
“It’s not about radio transmissions, it’s whether you trust the NYPD narrative. Do you trust the police to be 100% transparent with the most regressive transparency policy in the history of New York City?” he railed during the hearing.
The change will send reporters and news photographers scrambling to figure out what is happening around the city as they’ll be unable to hear details on calls for service, such as fires, car crashes or shootings.
As a result, the public will know less about what is going on on a daily basis in the Big Apple, press advocates said.
The encryption would also severely hinder — or even force to shutter — the widely popular Citizen App, which maps out cop calls in real-time for users to be able to see and upload photos and videos of incidents in progress.
“We have spent six years building up this network and saving a tremendous amount of lives and this threatens all of this progress,” said Andrew Frame, CEO of Citizen, adding that many New Yorkers rely on the app to stay safe.
“This is a dangerous step backward,” he said.
The NYPD hasn’t ruled out allowing the press or companies like Citizen to tune in, said Beltran, while noting that such a plan — which could include granting delayed access to the feeds — is under a departmental review that won’t be completed until after the entire network is encrypted.
Committee Chair Kamillah Hanks said the council needs “more clarity” on what effects the transition will have on the media and crime-reporting apps.
“I’m sure there will be transparency and reporting bills introduced after roll-out,” she said.