(1) It shall be unlawful for any person except a member of a police department or
police force or an official with written authorization from the head of a department
which regularly maintains a police radio system authorized or licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission, to have in his or her possession, or in an
automobile or other vehicle, or to equip or install in or on any automobile or other
vehicle, any mobile radio set or apparatus capable of either receiving or transmitting
radio or other messages or signals within the wave length or channel now or which
may hereafter be allocated by the Federal Communications Commission, or its
successor, for the purpose of police radios, or which may in any way intercept or
interfere with the transmission of radio messages by any police or other peace
officers. It shall be unlawful for any car, automobile, or other vehicle other than one
publicly owned and entitled to an official license plate issued by the state issuing a
license for the car, to have, or be equipped with the sets or apparatus even though
the car is owned by an officer. This section shall not apply to any automobile or
vehicle owned or operated by a member of a sheriff's department authorized by the
fiscal court to operate a radio communications system that is licensed by the Federal
Communications Commission or other federal agency having the authority to
license same. Nothing in this section shall preclude a probation and parole officer
employed by the Department of Corrections from carrying on his person or in a
private vehicle while conducting his official duties an authorized, state-issued
portable radio apparatus capable of transmitting or receiving signals.
(2) Any person guilty of violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than
fifty dollars ($50) and not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or imprisonment
not exceeding twelve (12) months, or both so fined and imprisoned.
(3) It shall be the duty of any and all peace officers to seize and hold for evidence any
and all equipment had or used in violation of the provisions of this section, and,
upon conviction of the person having, equipping or using such equipment, it shall
be the duty of the trial court to order such equipment or apparatus destroyed,
forfeited, or escheated to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and said property may
be ordered destroyed, forfeited, or escheated as above provided without a conviction
of the person charged with violating this section.
(4) Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the possession of a radio by:
(a) An individual who is a retailer or wholesaler and in the ordinary course of his
business offers such radios for sale or resale;
(b) A commercial or educational radio or television station, licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission, at its place of business; or
(c) An individual who possesses such a radio, provided it is capable of receiving
radio transmissions only and is not capable of sending or transmitting radio
messages, at his place of residence; licensed commercial auto towing trucks;
newspaper reporters and photographers; emergency management agency
personnel authorized in writing by the director of the division of emergency
management (for state personnel) or chief executive of the city or county (for
their respective personnel); a person holding a valid license issued by the
Federal Communications Commission in the amateur radio service; peace
officers authorized in writing by the head of their law enforcement agency,
Commonwealth's attorneys and their assistants, county attorneys and their
assistants, except that it shall be unlawful to use such radio to facilitate any
criminal activity or to avoid apprehension by law enforcement officers.
Violation of this section shall, in addition to any other penalty prescribed by
law, result in a forfeiture to the local law enforcement agency of such radio.
(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a paid or volunteer member of a fire
department or a paid or volunteer member of a public ambulance service licensed in
Kentucky who has been given permission in writing by the chief of the fire
department and the chief of each law enforcement agency whose frequency is to be
monitored, or the director of the ambulance service and the chief of each law
enforcement agency whose frequency is to be monitored, to possess a radio capable
of receiving on a frequency allocated to a police department or law enforcement
agency, whether the radio is in a vehicle or not.
(6) The secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet is hereby empowered by
issuance of a secretary's order to exempt from the prohibitions and penalties of this
section the possession and use of any and all radio communication equipment that
he finds is necessary to be owned and used by members of the general public and
other nonpolice persons for utilization in the N.O.A.A. weather radio system.
Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 176, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended
1998 Ky. Acts ch. 226, sec. 111, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts
ch. 418, sec. 9, effective July 15, 1994. – Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 110, sec. 1,
effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1986, Ky. Acts ch. 241, sec. 1, effective July 15,
1986. -- Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 137, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1980. -- Amended
1978 Ky. Acts ch. 435, sec. 1, effective June 17, 1978. -- Amended 1976 (1st Extra.
Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 443, effective January 2, 1978. -- Amended 1976 Ky.
Acts ch. 166, sec. 1 -- Created 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 1.