Police radio

With police radio is mainly colloquially, a frequency or frequency range referred to, which is exclusively used by police organs. The official designation is non- public mobile FM land radio service of the police. The police radio is a management and emergency means ( FEM).

Technology

In Germany the bad radio ( radio the authorities and organizations with security tasks) will be used. In general, the most radio traffic over the 4- meter band takes place. For this radio traffic circles are established, eg for a regional police headquarters, one - section, or for large-scale operations. The 4- meter band is also the main radio traffic circle for communication with the control center. The range of the 4-meter band is much larger than the 2- meter band, which is used for shorter distances, eg for signaling paths between two strips or between patrol and service. All radio communications with the control center is recorded.

In many urban areas, there is a wireless alarm system at the 4- meter band. In special cases, a voice encryption for wireless traffic ( crypto ) is made, where both the sender and the receiver must be equipped with special encryption and decryption techniques. The code used in the individual must be known to the receiver.

The police of North Rhine- Westphalia operates in Aachen since 2004, a pilot with the TETRA system. Alone for this pilot project have been issued 190 million euros. Furthermore, there are since 2010 a pilot project for digital radio in the Bavarian police.

Having described the initial differences between the Länder and the Federal Government on the financing of investments amounting to around 7.25 billion euros (divided between federal and state governments ) resolved and codified in a federal-state agreement begins in 2009, the construction of a digital public safety radio system called BOSNet. A more comprehensive coverage is not expected before 2013.

The federal government created the Federal Agency for Digital Radio of authorities and organizations with security tasks based in Berlin for planning.

Problems

Even though it's illegal, the police radio can technically be overheard by unauthorized persons. The police therefore partly deviates from duty on mobile phones, delicate missions (for example, horses Ripper ) are not given by radio. With the new digital radio the authorities and organizations with security tasks a listen in is due to the end-to -end encryption is no longer possible, this system is currently only in test mode.

In 2009 there were in a Mickey Mouse magazine a small radio as a side dish, with which one could listen to the police radio. According to the editor of the magazine, the Egmont Ehapa, the frequencies are limited to the radio frequencies. Nevertheless, the interception in several major cities was possible.

With the introduction of DAB radio interference occurred in 2011, causing the TETRA radio was impaired. As a result, the Federal Network Agency had access to a large demonstration in North Rhine- Westphalia, the temporary shutdown of the local DAB transmitter.

Legal

According to § 89 of the Telecommunications Act, the police radio listening is prohibited to unauthorized persons (see judgments). Those who receive inadvertently a non-public radio service in Germany, may not inform the content and the fact of receiving other. A violation is punishable under § 148 TKG with imprisonment up to two years or a fine.

BOS frequency tables may be used only in avoidance of these frequencies.

For programming of police radio frequencies, there are different judgments.

Judgments

There are several judgments that deal with the listening in on the police radio in Germany:

• Burgdorfer scanner judgment 1997 ( AZ: 4 DS/16 Js 7932/97 ): The district court Burgdorf acquitted a journalist who had listened to the police radio to a receiver. The judges ruled that the manufacturers would have to ensure that their devices can receive messages that were also allows for these devices. In order for the interception of public safety radio was legalized by means of commercially available devices though, but the judgment was not a policy decision. Several courts have now decided otherwise and refutes the judgment.
• Wuppertal scanner judgment 1998: A radio amateur in whose radio scanner frequencies were programmed that should not be listened to, was acquitted. The District Court of Wuppertal reasoned that the acquittal of actual successes reasons, it could not be proved that the Funkamateuer 've listened to on a specific day the police radio. 2000, the District Court in Cologne a similar case, since neither the evidence for a conviction nor an acquittal ranged ( AZ: 155-140/00 ). The district court ruled in 2003 Dusseldorf different, in this case, the radio scanner was with saved police radio frequencies in the car of a journalist found.
• Judgment of the Bavarian Supreme Court in 1999 (ref.: 4pcs RR 7/99 ): A CB radio in 1997, the reception of police radio frequencies detected, municipal court and district court sentenced him. In the third instance of § 89 TKG was tested for its constitutionality, the judges confirmed the constitutionality and the previous judgment. Thus the Burgdorfer decision was overturned, the judgment is still regarded as the most important legal decision with respect to the § 89 TKG. From the text:

" This means for the interpretation of" interception " that he is satisfied when a station is tuned in, although it is known to the receiver, that at this frequency messages are transmitted, which are not for him personally, the general public or an indefinite number of persons determined are. The mere search, which leads to the discovery of a not provided for the public radio station, Accidental reception is initially within the meaning of § 86 sentence 2 TKG. Only the more Listen after detecting this property causes criminal eavesdropping, especially when it is done on the receiver due to the fixation of the transmitter. "

Other countries

In the United States it is generally allowed to listen to non- encrypted radio frequencies. For this reason, exist on the internet audio streams of the U.S. police radio. Some police stations also operate public trunked radio.