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On Encryption 1/12: In a time when citizens are demanding accountability & transparency from their local law enforcement, @portlandpolice have made the decision to shut the door on the media & citizens by turning on encryption to their police dispatch channels.
Continued 2/12: It is important to safeguard citizens & protect neighborhoods, which is where the media comes in to play. The public relies on media outlets to supply them with information about ongoing events which may affect them directly.
Continued 3/12: Many of our local news sources use police scanners to find out about serious/dangerous issues, & utilize social media to get the information out quickly & efficiently to the public; however...
Continued 4/12: Relying solely upon the police to report on these issues means that the police control both the narrative of what happened & when that narrative is distributed to the public. This raises questions about accountability & transparency.
Continued 5/12: For instance, on 9/30/20 a running gun battle occurred in North PDX where 58 bullet casings were recovered. Bullets struck houses/cars. Citizens replied to our tweet that they had to duck & hide in fear of being struck by a stray round. https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1311571111130341376?s=20
Continued 6/12: The shooting occurred at 8:44pm but PPB held the info until 11:39pm, after late news had concluded on local TV. We were given info about the shooting from multiple sources but weren’t able to tweet until long after the danger had passed. https://twitter.com/pdxalerts/status/1311536588099207168?s=20
Continued 7/12: Another shooting with 2 people shot, 1 fatally, happened at 7:46pm on 10/1/20. We reported on it at 7:56pm & PPB released the info 40 minutes later. https://twitter.com/pdxalerts/status/1311862489282277377?s=20
Continued 8/12: Response to encryption from PPB is that it's an officer safety issue; however, we’ve not found one instance where officers were tracked down & injured or killed by someone using a scanner. It has usually been during high risk police work or ambushes.
Continued: 9/12: We support encryption for tactical situations; SWAT, crowd control, & special operations are all examples where encryption should be used. We do not support it for normal operations when media is monitoring & able to report when something happens.
Continued 10/12: We call upon our local leadership, candidates for office, & civic leaders to address this issue. @tedwheeler @sarahforpdx @sarah2020 @JoAnnPDX @AmandaFritzRN @ChloeEudalyPDX @Mingus4Portland @PortlandDan @CityAuditorPDX @ACLU_OR
Continued 11/12: We also ask our fellow citizens & local media the level of transparency & accountability they want from local law enforcement, & whether or not the consequences outweigh the few benefits of encryption. @OPB @KOINNews @fox12oregon @KATUNews @KXLNews @wweek
Continued 12/12: @Rjaellis @Jeffmapes @cemeza @alex_zee @ameliaOPB @IwriteOK @portlandmercury @Oregonian @EvertonBailey @maxoregonian @WmSteveHumphrey
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