ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va – Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia are transitioning their public safety radio communications systems to encryption beginning Monday, November 9, 2026, to protect sensitive information, enhance first responder safety, and align with evolving public safety communications standards. The transition will affect radio communications used by law enforcement and fire rescue agencies operating through the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle County (CUA) Emergency
Communications Center.
Currently, anyone can listen to public safety radio traffic in real time, including information
about active incidents, sensitive details about victims and witnesses, and officer
movements. Encryption will protect the community’s personal information and reduce the
risk that critical operational details could be misused while first responders are working to
resolve an incident.
“Encryption strengthens our ability to protect sensitive information while maintaining
secure and reliable communications for first responders across our region. The decision
follows extensive coordination among regional public safety partners and reflects a
growing trend among agencies nationwide,” said Lily Gregg, Executive Director for the CUA
Emergency Communications Center.
While radio traffic will no longer be available through public monitoring platforms,
community members should not expect a change in how they request emergency services
or receive emergency alerts. To sign up for emergency alerts for Albemarle, Charlottesville,
or UVA, please visit cua911.gov/alerts.
Additionally, CUA Emergency Communications Center crime mapping tool will remain
unaffected. Community members can continue to see high-level incident information and
set alerts to be notified of crime in their area by visiting https://tinyurl.com/socrata.
About the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle Emergency Communications Center (ECC): Established in
1984, the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is a regionally
consolidated public safety answering point (PSAP) serving Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville,
and the University of Virginia. The ECC handles all 9-1-1 emergency and non-emergency calls for the
region and serves as the central dispatch for local police departments, fire services, and rescue squads.
A nationally recognized center, the ECC is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and is designated as an APCO National Certified Training Program.
Media Contact:
Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle County Emergency Communications Center