Berkeley City Council votes to encrypt police radio communications, drawing public outcry

by Thomas Hughes, Bay City News November 4, 2025November 7, 2025

A person stands outside the Berkeley Police Department building in Berkeley, Calif on July 21, 2021. The City Council this week voted to encrypt police radio communications, limiting public access to real-time dispatch traffic. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News)

THE BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL voted 8-1 this 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.

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