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Forged driver licenses can be bought on the black market or manufactured by criminals. Many people do not have their name on their mailbox or in the phone book.

I know the information can be obtained, but that leaves a paper trail. Literally broadcasting it just seems chancy in these paranoid times.

- Jim

Follow me on this one: If they broadcast the name and DOB of a CHler carrying, according to the discussion we had in another thread about verbal disclosure of having a CHL, is he now failing to conceal?

I have had scanners since they first came out. The first one I got was because I was a volunteer fireman and wanted to keep track of the town's radio frequencies - this was before we got pagers and our "Plectron" alerts, although supposedly mobile capable were about the size of a modern VCR.

I still have several scanner, a couple of trunk trackers and a couple of analog, and one is on for my local town frequencies until my wife turns the TV up loud to drown it out.

I had one confiscated from me in NY State a while back. One of those times when quoting the relevant chapter and verse of the law to the officer did absolutely no good, he was bound and determined that ALL scanners in vehicles were illegal.

NY State had allowances in the law for hams, people with permits, and "professionals" among others. I was doing a noise survey, looking for the source of noise problems that were getting into the telephones. One of the people living along the road, where I was driving along the shoulder at less than five miles per hour and making frequent stops, called the sheriff's highway patrol and the worthy officer stopped me to ascertain what I was doing.

I happened to be driving an unmarked company car, so visual identification was not immediate. I identified myself, showed ID, and license and registration, explained all of the test equipment and its purposes, and what I was doing there. Then he spotted the scanner sitting on the seat.

He confiscated the scanner, wrote me a ticket, despite my showing him the permission slip to carry a scanner, my ham radio license, and the fact that I was a telephone company engineer doing my job.

I showed up in court at my appointed time and the officer never showed up. The judge said I could have the charge thrown out because the witness wasn't there, but I went ahead anyway, and then he threw the charge out because it was wrong.

Took me a while to get the scanner back, but I did. I suspect it went home with the officer.

When I moved back to Texas I called the DPS and asked about any law governing the carrying of scanners and was told there was none. I asked for it in writing and the young lady I was talking to faxed me a note saying there was no law about carrying scanners in vehicles.

DaveT wrote:While listening to the scanner a few nights ago, I heard a DPS Trooper go out on a traffic stop.

In a few minutes he requested a check on a drivers license number. Dispatcher ran the check, replied this way: "DL issued to (name and city inserted here). subject is clear, no warrants. Subject may also be armed, CHL indicated."

Thought it was interesting that anyone with a scanner now knows the subject in question has a CHL and is possible armed. He was not local, but if he had been...... there sure are a lot of folks around here with scanners.

If your quotation of the radio transmission is accurate, you did not hear a broadcast from a DPS Communications facility but rather a local PD or SO. Although they are not secret, DPS radio returns use 10-signals.
"No 10-29" or "No 29" would be said instead of 'No Warrants", the phrase "subject may also be armed" would not be said; and "10-44" would indicate that a CHL is held.

S&W6946 wrote:If your quotation of the radio transmission is accurate, you did not hear a broadcast from a DPS Communications facility but rather a local PD or SO.

Aren't most DPS radio interactions with local/county systems?

Kevin

Just depends....DPS operates 34 communications facilities around the state. Most troopers are within range of one of them or a repeater site. Many troopers will go through the local SO for some things such as accident assignments, but run their TCIC checks thru DPS as the returns are much quicker than local agencies due to the type of interface used. From submittal to return runs about 4 - 5 seconds (yes, seconds)

There are some areas of the state....in west Texas and some rural counties that they spend more time on the local radio systems than the DPS system, just due to coverage problems.

Kevin, in your area - Texarkana - the main radio tower and transmitter is located in Cass County on top off what could be called a "mountain", but its supposed to be the highest point in NE Texas. It provides coverage for several counties.

Thanks for the info.

When trooper writes a ticket, does he have to go through the SO for the court date?

They file their cases in JP court as you are probably aware. Generally, the JPs furnish the trooper with a court calendar, Precinct lines, mailing address, telephone numbers, etc. The trooper has this in the car with and just refers to it.

S&W6946 wrote:Generally, the JPs furnish the trooper with a court calendar, Precinct lines, mailing address, telephone numbers, etc. The trooper has this in the car with and just refers to it.

Sounds like a good old-fashioned system, with no reason to change.

Exactly right. The DPS Troopers in Knox County use the S.O. dispatch because of distance and poor coverage from DPS towers.

The communications I heard back to the Trooper were from the Knox County Sheriff's Office Dispatcher.