Do (Police) Radio scanners really exist?

Question

Or are they an invention of Hollywood? Are they easy to make or buy in the UK? I do not have criminal intent, I'm just curious and a fledgling electronics and radio buff.

Thanks

Answer 1

Hundreds of them ranging from £30 upwards depending on the sophisication. Try Maplin or search on line.
They will only be able to desypher the analogue radio systems, which are currently being phased out in favour of Airwave (TETRA). This a a fully digital encrypted national radio system that up to now can't be earwigged by the general public. The fire and ambulance services are in the process of migrating, and there are other users such as the MoD, mountain rescue etc.

Answer 2

No - But many police and fire departments are NOT scrambled - if you want to listen to them, go to Radio Shack and buy a scanner. It is a myth that all police departments have "gone digital". Another myth out there is that the unused radio spectrum when we switch to digital TV will be handed over to public safety agencies. The unused space will mainly be used by commercial interests (cell phone, business radio etc). The FCC has put this myth out so the public would more readily buy into the switch. The govt is going to make a lot of money selling that unused radio spectrum. Digital TV is a good thing, but the main reason it is being pushed is not so that our great public safety services can have better radios it is so the govt can make a lot of money.

Answer 3

Kind of.

Radio scanners are available, and very cheaply.

But most official radio communications are now scrambled, so a scanner will find a transmission, but it will sound like a chipmunk talking backwards, or a scrubbing brush on corrugated metal.

In the movies, we are supposed to believe that every criminal mastermind, and every private detective, as well as most journalists, will have a friend 'on the inside' of the right departments & agencies. This friend has access to encryption codes and specialised equipment, and can routinely supply them to the villain/hero.

Recently, something similar was exposed. A journalist was able to access the voicemail of a royal, but this was because the access code used on the voicemail box was easily guessed, and had not been changed for some time.

Even very simple security measures can be difficult to 'beat'; most identity crime happens because security is not being used, not because it is 'breakable'.

Answer 4

Yes they exist. All it is is a radio that changes frequencies, or channels over and over really fast. When there is activity on a channel, the scanner stops there and you can listen in.

The reason a scanner is necessary is because each different police precinct uses its own frequency to avoid flooding the net with radio traffic. Fire and ambulance services use their own frequency too, as does air traffic. With the scanner, you can hear them all.

They're a little more expensive than a plain radio, but you should have no problem finding one in your local electronics store.

Answer 5

They do/did exist and worked very well too. Only problem is that now all the UK police forces have gone to encrypted signals, so the best you are likely to pick up is local traffic on personal hand helds.

Answer 6

Yes they do you can buy them from electronic stores. Type in police scanner in your search engine there are hundreds of sites selling them.

Answer 7

Yes, they exist.

However, in the U.K. it is a criminal offence to listen in to police radio transmissions.

Answer 8

Yes. Very Handy if you have the need for speed.

Answer 9

like sal uk said they have gone digital now,so you cant receive anything ,but you can listen to aircraft control

Answer 10

no they exist and lots of peoploe have them - look it up on the internet and you should be able to get some good info and prices.