[archy]

A scanner with the ability to receive your local police and medical emergency frequencies could make the difference between life and death. A ham radio station setup that is able to receive both HF, VHF and UHF frequencies to let you know what is going on not only in your area but across the Nation, as well.

Not nearly as much as you need to pick up on public utility service dispatches, ambulance calls, railroad train-to-dispatcher reports, aviation communication and taxicab reports. The cops and sheriffs are responding after the fact; it's usually others out in the public spaces who first come upon signs of trouble- to which the cops may or may not respond.

[rockrr]

Good point. Aren’t police/FEMA/fed transmissions encrypted anyway?