Tyler Clancy, an 18-year-old aspiring firefighter, runs the Kendall County Scanner Incident Facebook page, which has become a go-to source for real-time updates on police activity. The page, along with its sister site for Kane County, shares reports of traffic accidents, shootings, and other emergency calls based on police scanner chatter. Clancy and his team of moderators aim to keep local residents informed about what’s happening in their communities.

Since launching in January 2014, the pages have attracted thousands of followers. “I thought 1,000 followers would be great,” Clancy said. “Now we’re at over 13,000, and it just kept growing.” While some see the pages as a useful tool, others are concerned about the potential misuse of information.

Several local police departments, including Elgin, Naperville, and Aurora, have started encrypting their radio communications to prevent sensitive details from being shared publicly. Deputy Chief Bill Wolf of the Elgin Police Department explained that criminals had been using scanner apps to track police movements, allowing them to escape before officers arrived.

Naperville’s police department uses an encrypted digital system, making it impossible to access their transmissions through regular scanners. Aurora also switched to encryption, but because many neighboring agencies still use public channels, some confidential information occasionally leaks out. “We’ve had situations where details got out that we’d rather not have been shared,” said Aurora Police spokesperson Dan Ferrelli.

Despite these concerns, Clancy and Dan Simon, who runs the Kane County Scanner Incident page, emphasize that they take care to avoid spreading unverified information. “We always make it clear when something is unconfirmed,” Simon said. “We only post what we can verify.”

Kane County Sheriff’s Lt. Patrick Gengler praised the responsible way the pages are managed, especially by young people. He believes the content is well-moderated and serves a valuable purpose for the community.

The days of expensive, bulky scanners are long gone. Now, free mobile apps allow anyone to listen to police broadcasts from anywhere. With pages like these on Facebook, even those without a scanner can stay updated in real time. It’s a powerful tool—but one that comes with responsibility.

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