by People with scanners may have noticed a lot more silence, lately.
Regional Police have switched to new encrypted radios that can’t be picked up by scanners a couple of months earlier than expected.
Police spokesperson Desiree Vassallo says officers are pleased with the new radios which provide better and clearer communication.
She adds one example is the New Waterford area which caused radio issues in the past because it’s a low-lying area.
Meanwhile, Fire Chief Bernie MacKinnon says career and volunteer fire departments will have to use the old, very high frequency or VHF system for some time to come.
He adds the reason is the new encrypted system doesn’t have a paging function to call firefighters when needed.
MacKinnon goes on to say for now, portable encrypted radios are used for command staff, who then communicate with the rest of their squad on VHF radios.
The CBRM has spent $1.5 million to install the new radios throughout the police and fire departments.
The province has also provided volunteer departments with four portable encrypted radios each.