I posted on fb that we listened to phone calls on the mid shift to stay awake.
We would monitor the trunks between NY and Miami and connect to the intercom speakers. That was always good listening.
I once heard a crime being planned. A man telling two women in exact detail how to to take a man for everything he had. He even gave them instructions on how to exploit personality traits and what the known possessions were.
I heard fugitives on the run calling back to see if their crime was discovered or if anyone was after them. If Miami was not very interesting we would put up the trunks to LA.
I imagine in the digital world monitoring voice calls does not happen as often but it still can be done from test positions in the central office and switch room.
About everything digital is copped up by the NSA and evaluated by computer software for key words and phrases.
“Test Board” would put interesting convos up on the speaker in the test center for all to hear. They knew the #’s to bring up that were most interesting. Like you said hookers,drug dealers etc.
The techs that worked the brokerage houses always seem to make good buys back then. Don’t know why they did so well ??
Cant do that as easily now unless you have a T bird to break them out but back then you knew which prs went to who’s desk.
When the telco got involved with them wire taps were a trip also.
When they went to loop extenders in the xbox we had a few boxes in Broward and Dade that when you opened the door these thing would fall out there were so many.
Clipped on to a few of those but didn’t understand Spanish.
Those were fun times.
In the 80s you could hear phone conversations over the scanner. Not intentional but they’d just be picked up. All sorts of “hey, honey, I have to work late... hey, baby, I’ll be over shortly” type stuff. Once, the DA was planning a men’s weekend with various county officials. They had hired female entertainment and were discussing, uh, menu prices.