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I've owned as many as six scanners at one time not counting some old crystal ones LOL. I don't listen much anymore but I know how most PD's and emergency communications function. Still I knew some tricks like how to tell if a cop talking on the radio was actually close by. For example a dept on 460 mhz repeater would use 465 mhz band from car to repeater. If you could pick up the 465 MHZ they were fairly close. Or they can use 460 MHZ low power car to car or handheld to handheld if real close.

The best part of scanners is during things like tornado weather. You can get several minutes heads up by monitoring the storm watchers on HAM Radio frequencies. Local NOAA Offices monitor it as well and when they say one has been site it's usually a watchers report.

As far as Law Enforcement comms go the 800MHZ Trunking Systems are harder to follow and scanners that can monitor them usually need to be programed by a computer where you buy it for best performance. I'm in a rural area so our Sheriff, VFD, Rescue Squad, and Paramedics, either use 460 MHZ or 453 MHZ.

BTW an old analog TV antenna if you invert the elements 90 degrees making the elements stand vertical rather than horizontal makes a great outdoor scanner antenna :>} You can run two scanners off one antenna if you use a TV signal splitter with an old analog TV signal amp.