The one thing about scanners is there are a lot of police agencies who feel they need to encrypt their transmissions. I see this a thing of the future and the scanner going by the wayside. For most of the routine calls I see no problem with open transmissions. However for the SWAT type calls then I see there may be a need for encryption. However who wants to hear the routine calls right? FYI most of the SWAT calls are pretty boring since proper radio discipline is utilized. Enjoy