How to Buy a Scanner In New York State
(Without Getting Arrested on the way Home)

The following should not be taken as legal advice.  I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV.

Some who have read my article on NY's scanner laws - along with one person who has not - have asked me, a bit plaintively perhaps, if there is any lawful or "safe" way to get a scanner home from the store without being arrested.  The legal situation is not that bad throughout most of the state, but at least one arrest has been made based on the mere presence of an unopened scanner box somewhere in the car.  In case you live in one of those backward jurisdictions where the actual law is only a suggestion for the police, I offer this somewhat tongue-in-cheek checklist for purchasing a scanner in New York State.

Before You Buy

Most people will advise you to research the type of scanner you need in order to listen to the communications of interest.  That's OK, but this is about avoiding arrest, so I'll assume that you have already figured out which scanner you want and are preparing to go to the store and buy one.

• Look at your driver license.  Is it valid?  Renew it if it has expired, and stay home or get someone else to drive if it is suspended or revoked.  If you have moved recently, make sure that you have documented your change of address correctly.  Also, does the photo resemble you?
• Look at the vehicle registration.  Except for the question about the photo, you should perform the same inspection on the registration as you did on your license.
• Make sure your auto insurance policy is up to date.  Do you have the latest FS-1 form in your car?
• Go outside and look at your car.  Are the registration and inspection stickers displayed properly on the windshield?  Do they have an expiration date that falls sometime in the future?
• Check the windows and don't go scanner shopping if you have a cracked windshield.
• Look at the tires.  They should have more than the legal minimum amount of tread and be free of visible damage, as well as properly inflated.
• You should have someone help you with this one.  Make sure all of the lights - both headlights, high and low beams, brake lights, and all directionals, marker lights, and daytime running lights - are working.  Don't go scanner shopping with burnt out lights or cracked lenses.
• If your car has more than the stock AM/FM antenna on it, you might consider removing the extra whips.  If your license plate has your ham callsign on it, this might not be as much of a problem, depending on where you will be driving.
• While you're at it, ditch the radar detector.
• Avoid any consumption of alchoholic beverages, no matter how small, for at least four hours prior to leaving for the scanner store.

After You Buy

Now that you have done your best to ensure that your car will not attract undue attention from a passing police officer, and that your documents will not get you into trouble even if you are stopped, you are ready to go buy your scanner.  Again, I am not here to give consumer tips, so we will skip ahead to the immediate post-purchase activities.

• Make sure to get a receipt for your purchase and have it where you can find it on the way home.  Proving that you just bought it today, with a timestamp, might persuade an officer not to write a ticket and/or take away your brand new scanner.
• This is very important:  DO NOT OPEN THE BOX AND START CONFIGURING THE SCANNER BEFORE YOU GET HOME.  One dippy judge has said that a scanner is capable of receiving police frequencies without batteries or tuning.  Don't take the chance.  You can wait - really!
• Put the scanner-in-box as far away from your driver's seat as possible.  Put it in the trunk, or if you're driving a station wagon or SUV, way in the back where you could not possibly reach it from the front seat.
• Stop for all red lights and stop signs.  Be sure to come to a full stop before turning right on red.  In fact, unless the person behind you is honking at you, I would avoid right on red turns altogether on this trip.
• Signal all turns and lane changes, and don't cut anyone off.
• Observe all speed limits, especially in school and construction zones.
• Do not pass stopped school buses with the red flashers on.  Even if they are on the other side of a divided highway, you are supposed to stop.
• If you should see a police car along the way, act natural.  Don't swivel your head to stare at the cop or do other nervous-looking things.   Keep telling yourself, "It's just another car.  He's not interested in me."
• Go directly home and take the scanner out of the car as soon as you get there.  If your wife shanghais you for a shopping expedition as you are preparing to go out, make the scanner store your final stop.

Why?

I hope you've found the checklist useful and, especially, entertaining.  But, if you think I'm joking about the possibility of having a newly purchased scanner confiscated and of being charged with a misdemeanor crime, then you should read No Scanner for You? New York's Flawed Approach to Protecting Police Radio Communications from Misuse by Criminals.  You can get a copy here.

If you would rather live in a state where we don't face such an absurd risk from buying and possessing a perfectly lawful piece of consumer electronic equipment, and where ham operators are not arrested for allegedly violating a law that supposedly exempts them, then please join the Modify_NYSVTL397 email list at Yahoogroups.com and ask what you can do to help change the situation.