The Crossville City Council will meet this afternoon in a work session.

Members will discuss the emergency services radio encryption.

Not long ago, a decision came down to encrypt the emergency services radio frequency in Cumberland County. The only local exception pertained to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which uses a different frequency.

The encryption left any basic scanner useless to hear emergency service broadcasts in Cumberland County without the security code to listen.

It is not clear who decided to encrypt the channels in Cumberland County. The decision left scanners and scanner applications listened to by local citizens useless.

Supporters say the encryption will help officers stay safe and nab wrongdoers who can’t evade arrest by monitoring scanners to track police movements.

Those opposed to the encryption say it affects what taxpayers learn about crime in our communities by impacting the local media’s ability to report on police activity. Citizens were able to listen to breaking crime events, location of vehicle accidents, a suspect on the run chased by authorities, information on a missing person, and severe weather details

3B Media News will be at the city council work session this afternoon and will report on the discussion regarding radio encryption.