Reporters won’t be able to keep up on Eugene Police Department activity through scanner traffic now that the department has shut off scanners used by local media.

After encrypting its scanner traffic to the general public last summer, Eugene police allowed media to continue accessing its main radio channel, with new scanners acquired by The Register-Guard and local television stations KEZI, KMTR and KVAL.

Police advised media last month that the scanner channel would be turned off because sensitive information — such as drivers’ license numbers, Social Security numbers and medical information — were sometimes aired on a channel that is not monitored during all hours. The channel was deactivated last week.

Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said officers transmit personal information on protected channels accessible only to law enforcement. Officers must switch to one channel when airing sensitive information and switch back to another channel to air basic information, she said.

When the confidential channel is not monitored, McLaughlin said, officers use the main channel that media can access to communicate sensitive information.

“We have found that when communications for incidents are switched back and forth between channels, officers can miss a critical transmission,” McLaughlin said. “Being left out of the communication loop in the field is an extremely dangerous situation for all involved officers.”

Reporters, and the general public, can now view only the department’s dispatch log on its website to check on day-to-day police activity. The log is updated throughout the day and night but includes only basic information about calls.

Scanner traffic allowed reporters to hear officers responding to calls — such as pursuits, robberies and shootings — in real time.

Many law enforcement agencies throughout the country have scrambled their radio traffic in recent years as it has become easier for the public to listen to police scanner feeds via various smartphone applications.

Local media can listen to only Oregon State Police and local fire calls on the scanner. Reporters do not have access to the Springfield Police Department’s channel and also are blocked from hearing radio transmissions involving the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.

McLaughlin said police also were concerned when reporters arrived at crime scenes before or at the same time as when officers arrived. She said media also have disseminated unconfirmed — and sometimes confidential — information heard over the scanner.

“Some of these experiences have inhibited EPD’s standard processes and some have been unsafe for reporters or others,” McLaughlin said.

“Regardless of the local media’s responsible and ethical reporting standards, there is information that we are legally prevented from sharing outside law enforcement,” she added, referring to the 2008 Oregon Consumer Identity Theft Protection Act, which prevents businesses and government from disclosing personal information, such as a Social Security number or driver’s license number.

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