BERKELEY, Calif. - The Berkeley City Council voted 8-1 last week to restrict public access to the police department's real-time dispatch radio traffic.

The move to encrypt radio communications was influenced by similar decisions by all other law enforcement agencies in Alameda County, several councilmembers said during the meeting.

Law enforcement agencies across the state are moving to restrict public access to dispatch transmissions to comply with a memo issued by Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2020 that said the real-time public broadcasts were putting victims at risk by revealing identifying or sensitive information about them. The memo instructed agencies to protect such information in line with changes in state law, but left leeway on how agencies would comply.

The Berkeley Polic

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