Local Police Want To Jam Wireless Signals 317
The Washington Post is reporting on the growing pressure from state and local law enforcement agencies for permission to jam wireless signals the way the Secret Service and the FBI can. Officials especially want to be able to drop a no-call blanket over local prisons around the country from time to time. "...jamming remains strictly illegal for state and local agencies. Federal officials barely acknowledge that they use it inside the United States, and the few federal agencies that can jam signals usually must seek a legal waiver first. The quest to expand the technology has invigorated a debate about how widely jamming should be allowed and whether its value as a common crime-fighting strategy outweighs its downsides, including restricting the constant access to the airwaves that Americans have come to expect. ... Critics warn of another potential problem, 'friendly fire,' when one agency inadvertently jams another's access to the airwaves, posing a safety hazard in an emergency. [CTIA spokesman Joe] Farren said there are 'smarter, better and safer alternatives,' such as stopping inmates from getting smuggled cellphones in the first place or pinpointing signals from unauthorized callers."
Re:police (Score:3, Funny)
Frink: Here is an ordinary square.
Wiggum: Whoa, whoa, slow down, egghead!
I'm angry with myself for reading this article (Score:2, Funny)
I missed a commercial!
Re:I want one too! (Score:1, Funny)
Posting anonymously for obvious reasons...
I work with a non-profit organization that hosts an annual 1 day event where we are lent VHF radios for use during that day. Due to the fact that only 1 or 2 of us (out of 30) actually have a license, we are warned only to use certain channels and to leave if anyone else appears.
There is 1 channel in particular that we are NEVER to use. We were told that if someone heard us on that channel, the guys that use it would have our location in literally 5 minutes. I've spoken to HAM radio enthusiasts and trust me, he wasn't kidding...
Moral of the story, don't fuck with a HAM Radio Guy's Channel!!!