Toronto police end 'eavesdropping' with new encrypted scanners

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair speaks to reporters at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club on Tuesday, March 3, 2015.

Toronto Police have rolled out new encrypted radios, bringing an end to eavesdropping by media and the public. However, Chief Bill Blair says he is “not at all” concerned that the move will impede effective oversight of his officers’ actions.

On Tuesday, police radios went quiet for media and members of the public who were able to listen in on the force’s communications.

Blair confirmed Tuesday that Toronto Police switched to their encrypted radios, following a similar move by other police forces across the GTA and the province.

Asked whether the move would place a cloak of secrecy over police activity, Blair said encrypted communications are necessary at times “to maintain the security and the integrity of our operations.”

“Overwhelmingly, the majority of our communications are not secrets,” Blair told reporters at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, where he was being honoured Tuesday.

“But at the same time, there are lots of circumstances where our officers are communicating with each other, sharing information which really is about private citizens and should remain private.”

He added that there are some police operations “where it’s necessary to not alert not just the media and the public, but also the bad guys that we’re coming.”

The force will use “other means” to share information with the media and the public, Blair said, including the force’s operations centre and via social media.

He also noted that strict oversight is still possible despite the encrypted radios. All police communications are recorded, he said, and is subject to freedom of information laws. The force is also subject to oversight by the Special Investigations Unit and other agencies.

The new radios are “a pretty significant investment” for the force, and part of a “large radio infrastructure project,” Blair said.

Encrypted radios were already used during some operations, including top-secret raids. However, patrol cars were only equipped with analog radios.