CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Mayor Lori Lightfoot is defending the Police Department’s move to encrypt its radio transmissions so that the news media and the public can no longer hear them.
A coalition of news organizations is warning that blocking reporters and the public from hearing police radio transmission in real time could hamper the ability of the media to keep the public safe in an emergency.
But, when asked, Mayor Lightfoot said the concern for law enforcement is that some criminals also listen to those unencrypted transmissions to avoid capture or be aware of where police officers are.
“My team has spent a lot of time trying to talk to, explain and see that we could come to some common ground, and we were told by the media outlets, ‘our way or no way.’ Well, then, my primary responsibility as mayor is public safety, public safety, public safety,” said Lightfoot.
The mayor said some participants in mob action during the 2020 uprisings in Chicago monitored real time police radio transmissions to guide their actions. And criminals sometimes use them to help avoid capture. So, the Police Department plans to encrypt them.
In a letter, the news organizations said they asked for a meeting, but the mayor flatly refused. She said it’s the media representatives who refused to budge.
WBBM Newsradio is not a part of the coalition of news organizations in dispute with the City of Chicago.
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