California Shooting.

[Ooh-Rah]

Wonder if the good sheriff will catch hell for this. I put it here as it his reaction is directly related to what happened in CA - and I didn't think it fit into the gun control thread.

Ulster County Sheriff: All Licensed Handgun Owners Should Carry Them

 

[racing_kitty]

That's why EOD types are very skittish about camera crews in the work area. People have a vested interest in seeing how they roll, and it's not for a benevolent reason. That line of thinking is not exclusive to that career field, either.

However, All Transparency Is Good (TM). God forbid the instant gratification generations can't see exactly what's happening before their popcorn gets cold.

 

[Brill]

@Blizzard - I was thinking the same thing as I was listening to it (and posting what I thought were relevant updates) - there were times that they would move to a secure channel or ask 'so-and-so' to call them on cell phone to communicate more sensitive info - One example being after they had the gun fight with the black SUV; soon after they wanted SWAT to head to a specific address - I'm guessing it was the address of killers - but that was broadcast via a different avenue; not publicly. Yes though...there did seem to be too much detail out there...

Terrorists...or workplace violencers....can eavesdrop too.

 

[Blizzard]

@Ohh-Rah, I hear ya. It's like Emily Ratajkowski (look her up if you don't know ) walking down the street naked; people are gonna look (I'm gonna look). If the broadcast is available, people will listen. It's human nature.

Specific addresses, phone numbers, movements, descriptions, etc. were broadcast. I know a few tried to circumvent with cell phone use but is that really how it should work? Several cell numbers were actually broadcast over the air. What if it were a major incident (ie 9/11) and cell use was not available? That's not a good process.

A few challenges I've heard cited in re: to encryted comms are:
1. Cost: obviously encryption comes at a higher cost - but these days is it really that much higher?
2. Increased complexity/potential issues with inter-agency communications: Does agency X have the same keys as agency Y, sometimes even communicating between agencies in the clear can get muddied, ex. LEO may not broadcast on the same freq as another agency, even in the clear.
3. Transparency: this is a weak argument as I'm not aware of any requirement for comms to be available this way, although I suppose some cities may have a requirement, especially days. Certain types, particularly media, may cry foul on this one.

However, I don't see these as signifant barriers to tightening up the release of info (#2 is probably the most legit of any of them). It really should be addressed. There is a right time for information to be made available and it's not while things are still unfolding.

 

[Blizzard]

Terrorists...or workplace violencers....can eavesdrop too.

Or John Q. Vigilante, who decides to come over and "help" out? (but actually complicates things further)

 

[Rapid]

Don't worry, this is already forgotten about over here. There's nothing about it in today's top 10 'most read' stories on the BBC site.

I guess it worked -- the media spin about workplace violence and 'unknown motives' makes this just another mundane 'mass shooting' which everyone is tired of hearing about.

Fake edit: sorry, I was wrong, looks like it did manage to creep in at #10. Obviously electric shocks and breastfeeding are more important though.

 

[AWP]

3. Transparency: this is a weak argument as I'm not aware of any requirement for comms to be available this way, although I suppose some cities may have a requirement, especially days. Certain types, particularly media, may cry foul on this one.

However, I don't see these as signifant barriers to tightening up the release of info (#2 is probably the most legit of any of them). It really should be addressed. There is a right time for information to be made available and it's not while things are still unfolding.

A good voice recorder will run about $20k, but shockingly they are also in the Fed. supply system. I'd also like to think radio comms are already recorded. The size of the files is miniscule and storage so cheap there's no reason not to archive the data forever.

breastfeeding....more important though.

Boobs are ALWAYS important.

 

[nobodythank you]

As a radio guy I am 100% on board. I know @ke4gde did some work installing police comm systems, so maybe he can chime in (also as an end user), but my take is simple:
Instead of getting old MRAP's or helos or whatever, why didn't departments spend Federal money on encryption? Even low level stuff, or frequency hopping, could prevent/ minimize what's described above.

I'd honestly rather know every PD's comms were encrypted than see LEO's carrying enough gear to assault Fallujah.

Sorry, late to the party. It depends on the agency/administration as mentioned. That being said, some agencies consider their trunked systems to be encrypted because the talk channel can be one of several freqs, and someone with a scanner will only pick up bits of the conversation. In essence, you could be transmitting on ch1 for one key up and channel 12 for the next (each channel has its own freq). Other systems only allow access (xmit or rcv) by radio serial number, and some highspeed agencies even use a dual encryption method to keep people form listening. Hidden talk channels or freqs are sometimes used as well for SWAT, VICE, IA, ect...

Though all of that goes out the window, in a manner of speaking, during a disaster as interop systems can patch one system to the next (HF to FM to PX to SATCOM to whatever. Also, due to mutual aid agreements, some agencies give out loaners to other agencies (sometimes non LE) as a way to communicate during a disaster. So really it depends on who is in charge, who has money, and what policy is.

 

[RetPara]

Talking with HH6 about this last night. She said 'That has to be the worst case of postpartum depression I ever heard of....."

 

[JBS]

Lots of talk about "guns killing people", but little to no discussion about the fact that this was (yet another) soft target / gun free zone.

These guys reconnoiter their targets and the worst instances of violence are almost always gun free soft targets- whether domesetic terrorists or foreigners.

• Movie theaters
• schools
• universities
• government buildings (as was the San Bernardino shooting)

 

[Grunt]

Talking about the fact that they are "gun free" is counter-productive to their cause. Focus has to be put on the "evilness" of the act -- that evil thing...the weapon.

Nevermind the tool behind the weapon...focus must be put on the weapon.

 

[JBS]

I think Tim McVeigh and Osama Bin Laden already proved that a determined killer with no guns can be far worse than small cells with guns.

Banning guns might have a negligible effect on suicide and the occasional workplace incident. Terrorists, however, will not be phased by new gun laws or demands to turn them in.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

Apparently Syed swore allegiance to ISIS.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Just thinkin'

Odd that I don't see all of Facebook changing their profile pics to an American flag like they did for the french -

 

[Grunt]

Unfortunately, for much of the public -- at least those in my area that I have interaction with -- except for the news focusing on it, the event has become a moot point and they have moved onto other things.

People are emotional based. The shooting "shocked and awed" them for the moment...but, once things settled down, so did their emotions.

Now, move along herd...there are other things more important to do.

 

[Blizzard]

Banning guns might have a negligible effect on suicide and the occasional workplace incident. Terrorists, however, will not be phased by new gun laws or demands to turn them in.

When you have fanatics/radicals and/or mental issues and there is a will, there will always be a way.

It's only a matter of time before one of these animals takes "inspiration" from more potent methods that have long plagued the Middle East. When that happens, banning all the guns on the planet won't help one bit. Then what we will we ban/blame?

 

[Rapid]

Just thinkin'

Odd that I don't see all of Facebook changing their profile pics to an American flag like they did for the french -

Probably because there's a concerted effort to distance this as much as possible from Islamic terrorism. But it's going to be harder and harder to do that, now that new information is coming to light.

"The female suspect in the California gun attack pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group on Facebook, US officials say.

Tashfeen Malik made the post under an account with a different name, the officials told US media."

It's almost as if American left wing media has an agenda...

 

[AWP]

Just thinkin'

Odd that I don't see all of Facebook changing their profile pics to an American flag like they did for the french -

That is an EXCELLENT point. Time for me to go troll the Net.

 

[ZmanTX]

Just thinkin'

Odd that I don't see all of Facebook changing their profile pics to an American flag like they did for the french -

Well according to the media it was just another "mass shooting" so why would people in France or anywhere else care?

ZM

 

[Red-Dot]

When you have fanatics/radicals and/or mental issues and there is a will, there will always be a way.

It's only a matter of time before one of these animals takes "inspiration" from more potent methods that have long plagued the Middle East. When that happens, banning all the guns on the planet won't help one bit. Then what we will we ban/blame?

I don't know if any on here have seen this: The Spymasters - CIA in the Crosshairs on Showtime

One of the former directors was interviewed (can't remember which one) and spoke of the Pakistani scientist that had teamed up with Bin Laden before he got whacked, discussing nuclear weapon development. During said interview, the scientist stated something to the effect "Now we come to the matter of finding fissile material". Bin Laden's response was "what makes you think we don't already have that".