Following three years of failed bills, state lawmakers in 2021 finally agreed on statutory language to address the trend among Colorado law enforcement agencies to fully encrypt their radio communications.

A provision inserted into police accountability legislation requires agencies to create a “communications access policy” for letting local news media outlets listen to primary dispatch channels “through commercially available radio receivers, scanners, or other feasible technology.”

But a year after House Bill 21-1250 was signed into law, reporters still can’t tune into Denver and Aurora police radio transmissions like they did before both agencies blocked public access — Denver in 2019 and Aurora three years earlier. Although each department has a written policy on radio access, neither has reached an agreement with any Denver metro news organizations.

“From where I’m sitting, it appears encryption negotiations have stalled,” said Kirsten Boyd, assistant news director at Denver7 and a Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition board member.

Matt Lunn, manager of strategic initiatives for the Denver Police Department, told CFOIC the major sticking point from his perspective is a provision in Denver’s proposed agreement known as the auditor’s clause. “And unfortunately, we don’t have the ability —the city attorney’s office doesn’t have the ability — to remove that from any of our contracts,” he said. “It’s a standard clause required by the auditor’s office and so that’s kind of where we’re at.”