You can listen to live broadcasts of law enforcement and fire departments using a police scanner app. Police scanners can be accessed via the internet, unlike traditional scanners which require a radio to operate.
With apps that allow you to listen to emergency calls wherever you are and for whatever reason, you can turn any smartphone into a radio scanner. These apps allow you to keep up with breaking news and provide information about your local area.
These apps are legal depending on where you live or, perhaps more importantly, where it is used. Tuning in at home may be okay, but driving around with a running police scanner could be illegal.
7 Best Police Scanners in 2022
01 of 04
Listen to Short Codes
What We Like
- It is simple to find the top 100 scanner feeds.
- Browse local feeds and all other information.
- You can add police feeds to your favorites list for later access.
- This section displays location-specific codes meanings.
What we don’t like
- The free version contains many advertisements.
- No Android app.
The 5-0 Radio Police Scanner App is one way to get a police scanner for free. It does have ads, but it allows you to access many feeds around the globe and includes codes for police scanners on the same screen.
The pro app includes more police feeds and no ads.
The police scanner gives you access to online radio stations.
This scanner radio is compatible with iOS and Windows 11/10/8.
Download for
iOS Windows 02 of 04
Receive Alerts When Something Big Happens: Scanner Radio
What We Like
- Receive alerts when a specified number of people listen to the police scanner of your choosing
- Broadcastify will send you alerts if there is an alert.
- A sleep timer can be used to turn the police scanner off automatically.
What we don’t like
- Although police codes are available, they are not specific to the feed.
- Only works on mobile devices (no computers).
The Scanner Radio app is unique in that it can be set up to receive mobile alerts when a lot of people listen to a particular feed. This usually indicates an increase in activity on the scanner.
These are the 7 best emergency alert apps of 2022
You can browse the feeds of this police radio app by those near you. They will also have access to the top 50, location and source (e.g. ScanBC. RailroadRadio. Broadcastify).
Download for
iOS Android 03 of 04
Stream Radio Feeds from Police Radio Stations On Any Device: Broadcastify
What We Like
- It is easy to locate feeds that have active alerts.
- Many areas supported
- You can search for feeds in your area or anywhere in the world.
What we don’t like
- Premium accounts only have access to feed archives and ads.
- The app does not display shortcodes that are used by police officers.
Broadcastify has more than 7,000 live audio streams. These streams include feeds from police radios, public safety radios, railway, and marine audio streams.
You can navigate to the live broadcasts by navigating into sections such as Top 50 Live Audio Feeds and Latest 50 Feed Additions. You can also browse by location to locate local police scanners.
These features are also available on Broadcastify:
- Users have the option to broadcast their stream.
- You can listen to the podcast through iTunes, your phone or your web browser.
This free scanner can be used on Android devices. If you need unlimited, continuous listening, with no ads and other exclusive features, a premium Broadcastify subscription will be required.
Download for Android 04 of 04
Police Feeds from Thousands of Locations: The Police Scanner
What We Like
- Police feeds worldwide
- Record radio snippets.
- A timer is used to start/stop a radio feed.
What we don’t like
- Many ads, including pop up ads.
- It doesn’t explain the meaning of codes used by police officers.
- Only for iOS devices
This app connects to more than 50,000 feeds and allows you to record what you hear, then play it back later.
These are some of the highlights:
- You can customize the interface by changing the background or hiding buttons and labels.
- You can add custom police scanner feeds to the app via URL.
- Share the feed URL with other people so they can access it in a web browser.
Only iPhone and iPad users can use Police Scanner for free. Police scanner + can be purchased for additional features such as no ads, bonus content like weather and airport feeds and local police codes.
