Wednesday, September 24, 1997

Fans of police scanner talk can now hear it on the Web

By James Romenesko / Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Police scanners on the Internet?

The idea was so simple and brilliant that it went right over the heads of the creative entrepreneurs at AudioNet, a Dallas-based outfit that broadcasts concerts, annual meetings, talk shows and other events over the Net.

Then a Dallas police officer walked into AudioNet's offices one day last year and pitched the concept, says Sam Bloom, the firm's business services manager.

"He says, ÔYou guys should put the scanner feed up on the Net.' "

The techies at AudioNet loved the idea -- a no-brainer, they thought, that would surely be a hit with the millions of true-crime buffs who never miss an episode of "COPS," the television show.

"We did some investigating and found that scanner feed was public domain and we started broadcasting," said Bloom. "The reaction to it has been tremendous."

After a few months of airing the Dallas department's calls, AudioNet added New York and Los Angeles police departments to its scanner feed lineup and introduced a division of its firm called Policescanner.com.

The plan is to add police calls from other large departments over time, said Bloom.

In less than a year, Policescanner.com has developed a cult following that cuts across all demographics. While the "scannerhead" stereotype is that of a bored, snoopy older person, many fans of Policescanner.com are young techies, said Bloom.

"This is a whole new hobby to a lot of people, he said. "Employees at Yahoo! and WebTV say they have it on all day as background noise."

Nearly 40,000 computers are tuned to Policescanner.com daily. The site got extra traffic last Feb. 28 when Los Angeles police killed two robbers after a daring daytime bungled bank heist.

"People said they were watching this on CNN with the sound down, and listening to Policescanner.com," said Bloom. "This idea taps into people's sense of wanting to know what's going on and their ability to get real-time information."

St. Paul police Sgt. Fred Fischer said he understands why Policescanner.com has become so popular.

"It's kind of fun, but I probably look at it a little differently than most people," he said. "I listen for the kinds of codes the departments use and to the procedures they use."

The Los Angeles department, he said, "is probably a little more code-conscious than we are in St. Paul."

The larger department does most of its scanner communications with numbers, he notes.

"They tend to code their offenses -- saying, ÔWe have a 211 in progress,' instead of saying that they have an armed robbery," said Fischer. "We've sort of taken the tact that nothing's less confusing than plain English."

Bloom notes that Policescanner.com has code translations at the Web site for users who aren't familiar with the scanner lingo.

He said AudioNet is committed to its police service, although the scanner operation is a financial drain for the young company.

"It's expensive to do this -- it takes a lot of bandwidth and software to manage," said Bloom. "But it's not about the bottom line. This is worth it because there's real marketing value to it. It's a way to prove to people there's a reason to get online."

How to listen to Policescanner.com

1. Install the software, RealAudio, which is free at its Web site: http://www.real.com .

2. Go to http://www.policescanner.com .

3. Click on one of the icons below the three listed police departments (Dallas, New York, Los Angeles).

x x x

Other resources for police and police buffs

--America Online's Public Safety Forum (Keyword: POLICE)

While the public is welcome here, police officers dominate the most active discussion boards. There's a cop bar feel to the forum, filled with lots of Wambaugh-esque anecdotes. A sample from "Sgt 318": "I've worked all three patrol shifts, but when it comes right down to it, nothing can beat Night Shift, or Graveyards, as we call it (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). No brass, no traffic, and we love putting the low-life, night-crawling scum of the earth UNDER our jail."

--Cops Online

http://www.copsonline.com

Officers share their Web site URLs and look for "perps" (perpetrators) -- all in one place.

--Officer.com

http://www.officer.com

This is the ultimate cop page, with everything from police supplies to wanted posters. There are hundreds of links to other police sites.

--Adam-12 Home Page

http://www.sierranet.net/burnsds/adam12.htm

This tribute to the old television show has descriptions of cars used in the series, a synopsis of every show aired, and a discussion of the reality of "Adam-12."

--Cop Talk

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3945

This site has true stories from streets, as written by police officers. There's also an "Ask a Cop" section.