When I became your Police Chief in January 2024, I made you a promise: transparency would be a cornerstone of how we serve this community. That promise remains unwavering.
Since I have been the Chief of Boulder Police, we've backed up that commitment with action:
I meet regularly with our community members, including business leaders, LGBTQ community and organizations, and faith leaders. I have had frequent conversations with our Latino neighbors in my second language, Spanish. Our Community Liaison Officers provide engagement with historically excluded communities, which is another way to build trust, increase accessibility to public safety resources, and improve reporting capabilities. Through monthly newsletters and constant engagement, I've worked to ensure you have access to information and to me. My goal is to be as transparent, accessible, and honest with the Boulder community as possible. Policing requires trust, and I am committed to building that in our community, day in and day out.
Recently, our move to encrypted police radio channels sparked concern. I understand the concern but also want to provide some additional information and context. How we communicate with our community about these kinds of changes matters, and I want to be sure I’m sharing everything I can about why we have made this change.
Here’s what you need to know: encrypted radios are not a step backward in transparency — They’re a necessary evolution in how we protect our community and our officers and are consistent with statewide practices. Encrypted radios will allow us to better communicate with our surrounding and state agencies. As we look toward events like the Sundance Film Festival in 2027, we must have the ability to communicate swiftly and effectively with our partner agencies during breaking public safety incidents. Almost all our partner agencies are on a similar, encrypted system like our new radio system. Having encrypted radios will streamline our operations and help keep the community safe when it matters most.
The immediate driver of this change was our aging radio system, which was failing during critical times and creating real safety risks. In October, we transitioned to a new encrypted system because we could no longer rely on equipment that was putting lives at risk.
Prior to switching to encrypted radios, and in accordance with state law regarding radio encryption, our partners at the City Attorney’s Office drafted a Police Radio Use Agreement that mirrors agreements in other cities. Unlike most other jurisdictions, the City of Boulder chose to offer our three local media outlets their own encrypted radio—each of which costs about $6,000—at no cost to them, with provisions about not sharing tactical incident information or information that might compromise officer safety. These radios differ from traditional police scanners or apps as they are an actual city-owned police radio, with the transmit function deactivated. Thus, there is a need to have some guardrails and restrictions on use as with any city-owned property.
But there’s a deeper reason we have moved to encrypted radios: I am responsible for keeping both our community and our officers safe, and the prior, unencrypted system did not meet those goals to the highest standards.
Across the country, criminals use scanner apps to monitor police movements, evade capture and arrest, and target officers and community members. I have personally been involved in cases where people committing crimes were actively listening to police radio traffic from their phone via a free scanner app, to monitor police movements. These range from barricaded suspects to bank robbers to car thieves. For example, I recall one incident where officers were following a stolen car that a person had used in an armed robbery involving firearms. Officers were following the stolen car and every time they planned to move in and arrest the suspects who were driving, the drivers seemed to know their plan and were able to evade capture. When officers finally apprehended them, they had our police channels streaming over the speakers in the stolen vehicle. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in this incident, but the public and officer safety implications raise significant concerns.
In addition, encrypted radios mean less chances that personal identifying information could fall into the wrong hands. For example, sometimes when police are responding to an incident, information about a victim or other person of interest is shared over the radio, such as the person’s race, gender, or language they speak. Encryption also helps protect the privacy of our community members who may be at the scene of a public safety incident, possibly in a vulnerable position.
Let me be clear: encrypted radios do not mean less transparency. Transparency isn’t about technology — it's about values and commitment.
Our full-time public information team remains as responsive as ever. Every radio transmission is recorded and maintained. Supervisors, including myself, monitor radio traffic 24/7. We follow strict FCC guidelines and internal policies. And in 27 years of policing, I've never seen a case of police misconduct uncovered by someone with a scanner app — but I have seen effective oversight systems catch problems and hold people accountable.
That’s exactly what we have here. Our Independent Police Monitor, Police Oversight Panel, Professional Standards unit, and comprehensive policy manual create multiple layers of accountability. This isn’t theoretical — it’s how we operate every single day.
In my four years at Boulder Police Department, I’ve come to know a department free from the systemic issues that have broken trust in other communities. Our officers are recruited and trained to the highest standards, and I see that reflected in their work every day. When issues arise, we address them head-on.
But I also know trust is earned, not declared.
As your Police Chief, I must balance competing priorities: transparency and operational security; community needs and officer safety; accountability and crime reduction. These tensions are real, and I don't take them lightly. Every decision I make weighs these factors with the seriousness they deserve.
My commitment to you is this: we will continue to assess and determine the best ways to transparently share information with you. We will maintain the professionalism this community expects. And we will never stop working to serve our community through our actions, not just our words.
Boulder deserves a police department that is both transparent and effective, accountable and safe. You have my word that we will strive to be exactly that.
I welcome your feedback. You can always reach me at Redfearns@bouldercolorado.gov.
Chief Stephen Redfearn
Boulder Police Department
