Encrypting police and fire radios is on the agenda – My Columbia Basin

PENDLETON The Pendleton City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom. Topping the agenda is a request by Fire Chief Jim Critchley and Police Chief Stuart Roberts that their radio channels be encrypted.

Roberts said that the move toward encryption is recommended by a national study and is being considered by all first responder areas within the Umatilla-Morrow Radio District. He cited the growing emphasis on individual privacy rights and the tendency of the public to show up at active crime scenes, endangering their own safety, as some of the reasons behind the recommendation. Roberts also said many criminals carry hand-held scanners with them so they can know where police are.

Im not overly concerned about encryption on what we would categorize as our main channel, Roberts said. Some of my peers feel very strongly the other way.

Those peers have told Roberts they believe encryption should be all or nothing. He says he believes it is obvious why its important to have encryption on the tactical channels that are used by the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics team and SWAT.

Our need to maintain encryption on tactical channels far exceeds, at least in my analysis, the need for the public to be able to essentially monitor the radio traffic, he said.

Also on the council agenda is a $595,595 bid from Central Washington Asphalt, Inc. of Moses Lake to perform the overlays and road reconstructions throughout Pendleton this summer.

The Pendleton Development Commission will meet one hour prior to the council meeting.

ZOOM ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS

You can attend this meeting at the Council Chambers at Pendleton City Hall, 500 SW Dorion Ave., or you can access the meeting via Zoom by following these instructions.

Meeting ID: 955 4604 3802

Internet Browser Connection:

(From aninternet browseron yourcomputer, smart phone or tablet,click on this link to join the meeting. By connecting via a web browser you will have both an audio and a video connection if your connecting device has both audio and video transmission capabilities. If you use a computer without a camera or microphone you will not be able to be seen or to be heard.) Click here:

https://zoom.us/j/95546043802

Phone Connection:

On a smart or landline phone, dial one of these phone numbers to be connected to the meeting.(You will have an audio connection via your phone.You will not have a video connection.)

then input the Meeting ID, 955 4604 3802 when instructed to do so.You do not need a password.

Dial one of these numbers:

+1 669 900 9128 US

+1 301 715 8592 US

+1 253 215 8782 US

Meeting ID: 955 4604 3802

You can leave the meeting at any time by hanging up.

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Encrypting police and fire radios is on the agenda - My Columbia Basin