Officers to Use Cell Phones for Privacy

When deputies out on the beat on the mostly safe streets of Moorpark want to talk to headquarters, they typically don’t want to use their radios.

“We know the bad guys can and do listen in,” said Lt. Marty Rouse, who heads up the Moorpark Enforcement Division for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Hoping to improve communication between patrol deputies and their supervisors, the Moorpark City Council approved a plan Wednesday night to give officers on patrol cellular phones.

AT&T; Wireless has offered to give the Moorpark division free phone service for six phones over the next six months, Rouse said. That will keep the first-year cellular phone bill at about $600. But next year the cellular phone service would probably cost the city an additional $3,200, he said

“We know that cell calls can be listened to, but they are not typically monitored,” Rouse said. “This is an affordable way to help improve communications.”

In the past, deputies wanting secrecy would have to visit a pay phone to call in, or use a phone at a local fire station or the Moorpark Police Resource Center downtown.

But when the deputy isn’t near a phone or doesn’t have the change, making a call can be a hassle, Rouse said. Cellular phones are no longer a luxury but an essential tool, he told the council.