Scanner users assist public safety agencies and the public on a daily basis; they are not only criminals as some would like you to believe. The vast majority are law abiding citizens, volunteers, and public safety organizations. The following paragraphs summarize the many types of scanner users:
Emergency: Emergency Management Coordinators monitor local public safety during disasters; Volunteer ham radio operators (RACES/ARES organizations) monitor public safety in order to pass disaster communications when normal channels are crowded or non-operational; Newly organized volunteer Citizens Emergency Response Teams (CERT) also use scanners in times of emergency as well as Urban Search and Rescue (USR) teams. New Jersey Task Force One, one of NJ's USR teams, is pictured above. Disaster coordination has never been as important since 9-11!
Public Safety: Police Departments use scanners to monitor neighboring law enforcement for coordination (such as a car chase); Fire departments and EMS squads monitor scanners for mutual aid purposes. After the disasters in Washington DC and New York on 9-11, a recent study by the Public Safety Wireless Network (PSWN) program reviewed the state of interopeable communications during the Pentagon disaster. Interoperability among public safety agencies needed much improvement - scanners provide an excellent method for monitoring channels that may not be programmed in an agency's 2-way radios. They can also be very heplful to non-trunked users with monitoring neighboring trunked systems for mutual aid.
Volunteers: Townwatch organizations require scanners to keep abreast of dangerous conditions in their neighborhoods. President Bush resuests everyone to be involved in their community - the newly created Citizen Corps (part of the USA Freedom Corps) includes initiatives to engage Americans in specific homeland security efforts in communities throughout the country. The volunteer initiatives, led at the local level by new Citizen Corps Councils, include a Medical Reserve Corps, a Volunteers in Police Service Program, a doubling of Neighborhood Watch, a new Terrorist Information and Prevention System, and a tripling of Community Emergency Response Team members. Other volunteer organizations that utilize scanners include the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and REACT.
Media outlets: The media utilizes scanners extensively for newsgathering. Example users include TV stations, newsradio, newspapers, freelance photographers, and news paging services. Scanners allow the media to report fast and accurate coverage of potentially dangerous situations to you (the public).
Corporations: Security departments use scanners to monitor local police departments in order to inform their officers of impending dangerous situations nearby. In fact the security department where I work has their scanner operating continuously to monitor Philly PD.
Citizens: The people monitor their local heros with scanners. Not a week goes by without reading about a citizen that helped their local law enforcement catch a criminal utilizing a description of the perp that the citizen heard over their police scanner. This is also an excellent way for the public to better understand what police departments and emergency service professionals and volunteers face every day. It is a great tool for community policing!
