Fredericton first in N.B. to encrypt police service calls

Policeradio calls in Fredericton willbe switchedto anencrypted system within the next few weeks.

Fredericton will be the first municipality or region to join the newNew Brunswick Trunk Mobile Radio (NBTMR) system.

The city's police force and fire department will migrate to the new system, with police availing of an option to encrypt communications.

A representative with the City of Fredericton saidsafety and privacy arebehind the decision to opt for encryption for police.

"It has two basic functions," said Wayne Knorr, communications manager for the City of Fredericton.

"One is the protection of our officers, and the second one is protection of privacy when it comes to people that might be involved in particular police calls."

Knorrsays migrating to the new system will cost Fredericton just under $3.6million over 10 years, with a monthly access fee of more than$8,000. Knorr saidthere is no extra cost for the encryption service.

The system is beingrolled out in the city's new Public Safety communications centre facility.

The MacNeil Report into the shooting deaths of three RCMP officers in Moncton in 2014 identified a need for encrypted police communication in the province.

The report said more secure communication would lead to better "operational effectiveness, officer safety and protection of privacy."

The RCMPsaidit is moving towards using encryption.

The City of Saint John saidit intends to implementthe system at a cost of between $2.5millionand $3million, but it has not specified whether encryption will be used.

"Staff will present a business case to common council later in 2016 with a financial plan and options that provide the best value for money," said the city'sSenior Communications OfficerLisa Caissie.

Ambulance New Brunswick saidit plans to go live on NBTMR in the fall, but it currentlyhas noplans to useencryption.

Scanner group concerns

In recent weeks, concerns had been raised aboutthe posting of personal information from police radio calls on certain Facebookgroups.

The invitation-only Hardcore Scanner Action (HSA) group in Frederictonallows members to post detailed information from scanner calls, including the names and addresses of alleged victims and those being investigatedor accused of crimes.

On Monday, the administratorof the HSA page, Gary Robichaud, told its more than 1,600members that the group would be "no more" unless he could find out a way of bypassing the encryption.

A post from Robichaudon the pagesaid"the party's over."

Canada's Radiocommunication Act states that "no person shall intercept and make use of, or intercept and divulge, any radiocommunication, except as permitted by the originator or intended recipient of the communication or the person intended by the originator of the communication to receive it."

In the case of an individual, a conviction can lead to a fine of up to $25,000, and/or up to a year in jail.

Industry Canada says the rules apply even when the informationshared is in an invitation-only group.

Facebook's 'mistake'

Facebookhas told CBC News that posts similar to those on HSA, which identify people along with their home addresses,are against its community standards policies.

A CBC News storylast month highlighted one such case, where a Fredericton woman complained that she and her boyfriend werenamed on the HSA page following a police call for a domestic incident. The call did not result in any criminal charges.

After she was named on the page, the womanfiled an official complaint to Facebook, but the post remained on the page.

Following the CBC News story on February 25,Facebook removed the post from thepage.

"The post has been removed by us. There was a mistake in terms of taking it down," said a spokesperson representingFacebook.

The spokesperson could not comment on other similar posts on the page, but said"we would encourage people to report violations of the community standards."

Facebook's community standards page says the site removes "content that appears to purposefully target private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them."

On March 1, Robichaud asked members of the group to reduce personal attacks and trash talk about those identified on the page.

Robichaudhas not responded toCBC News requests for interview.