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Why Listen To A Scanner? Listening to a VHF/UHF scanner is great a hobby. Searching out new frequencies, finding radio services you didn't know existed, tinkering with radios, antennas, and accessories is a fulfilling pastime, a great way to relax and escape from the stresses of everyday life. But when you think about it, having a scanner radio has more important purpose. It makes you a better citizen. Using your scanner gives you a view into how your local community works. It allows you to audit the effectiveness of your local, state, and federal government. Listening in on everything from public safety to public works to the schools can give you insight you generally don't have access to in other settings. A scanner radio also allows you to monitor and critique the press in your community. The media has a societal role of being a "watchdog" on government. The knowledge gained from listening to your scanner helps you evaluate how good a job your local press is doing. This access to information is a powerful tool, one that all of us should take advantage of. Government works best when it is under the scrutiny of the people it serves. Through monitoring the day-to-day activities of police, fire, and other public agencies, you gain an appreciation of the challenges involved in running a community. You can also get a sense of how these public servants approach their jobs and how they regard the public they are accountable too. This information also gives you something by which to measure the public statement of elected and appointed officials. They mayor of your town may make all sorts of pronouncements regarding public safety and the police; thanks to your scanner, you may have a different view. Perhaps most importantly, listening to the scanner can help you develop and an informed opinion (something in rather short supply these days) on whether your government is really doing what the citizenry expects. If you listen long enough to a scanner, I think you will get a sense of incredible dedication and professionalism most public servants bring to their jobs. You'll also discover that they are human, like the rest of us. What you get from you scanner is a more well-rounded picture of what goes on in your town. Your scanner can serve as a check on how the media is doing in their role of government watchdog. With your scanner, you hear events as they unfold. An interesting exercise is to compare your own impressions of what you've monitored compared to the reporting of the local radio or television reporters. Sometimes you'll be surprised at the difference between what happened and what's reported. There are also other practical benefits to owning and using a scanner. Thinking about moving to a different neighborhood or nearby community? Spend a couple of weeks monitoring your possible new home's police and fire agencies to get an idea of what the area is like in terms of crime and traffic. The scanner can give you the exact same information as your local traffic reporter has, making your commute a bit smoother. And in a real disaster, the scanner can give you information that can save your life. Thanks to a combination of misunderstanding of how citizens use scanners, and chicanery by telecommunications corporations, the right to listen to use a scanner radio has been diminished, or in some circumstances curtailed entirely. Our right to listen to a scanner radio is akin to our right to a free press. We should do everything we can to convince our lawmakers and public officials of the importance of citizens knowing what's going on in the community. Like Neighborhood Watch or other community-involvement activities, a scanner radio is a tool for community involvement, a tool to improve the community. So always remember that it is much more than just a hobby. Partners: 2002 JTed |
