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Philadelphia police radio rarely goes quiet. Twenty police districts, a fire department that also runs the city's ambulances, and a steady stream of calls from Center City to the Far Northeast all move across the air. You can follow it live from your phone without buying or programming a scanner. Here is what is on the feeds and where to start.
The Philadelphia Police Department is the fourth-largest municipal police force in the country, with an authorized strength of more than 6,000 sworn officers. The city is divided into 20 patrol districts grouped into six divisions, and radio dispatch is split into area channels so no single dispatcher carries the whole city.
Police and fire run on a digital trunked radio system. A scanner that can follow it costs several hundred dollars and needs careful programming, which is why most people listen through a live feed instead.
Expect dispatchers assigning cars to calls, officers arriving and clearing, requests for a wagon to transport a prisoner, and the occasional "assist officer" call that pulls every nearby unit. Philadelphia officers are also known for driving shooting victims straight to a trauma center in the back of a patrol car rather than waiting for a medic, so you will sometimes hear a car announce it is headed to the hospital with a victim. Officers mix codes with plain language. Our guide to police scanner codes covers the common ones, and how emergency dispatch works explains why calls come out in the order they do.
Download Scanner Radio, free on iOS and Android, then tap the Philadelphia Police - Citywide button below or search "Philadelphia" in the app and press play. There is no antenna to set up and nothing to program.
Philadelphia Police - Citywide
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Listening from the other end of the state? Our Pittsburgh scanner guide covers Allegheny County.
Each part of the city has its own dispatch feed. The areas below are approximate.
Pick the area where you live or work. One area is quieter than the whole city and much easier to follow.
The Philadelphia Fire Department handles both fires and the city's 911 ambulance service, with roughly 60 engine companies, two dozen ladder companies, and more than 60 medic units. Most of its runs are medical, and some Philadelphia medic units rank among the busiest ambulances in the country. Fire dispatch is split into two feeds, Philadelphia Fire Dispatch - North and Philadelphia Fire - South Fire/South Medics. Expect engines and ladders sent to reported fires, medics assigned to calls, and companies reporting what they find when they arrive. If you would rather keep one stream running, Philadelphia Police and Fire combines both services on a single feed.
Most people do not keep a feed playing all day. Scanner Radio fills that gap with headlines and notifications when there is major activity, such as a shooting, a multi-alarm fire, or a serious crash. You can also get an alert when the listener count on a feed suddenly climbs, which is often the first sign that people heard something worth tuning in for.
When a story is developing, listeners can tag a feed with the kind of incident underway, like a building fire, so you can tell what is going on before you press play. Live transcription lets you read the radio traffic when you cannot listen out loud. And if you enjoy the strange and memorable moments that turn up on the radio, Clips is a short-form feed of audio other listeners have captured.
With this many districts and this much call volume, Philadelphia's radio almost never goes quiet for long. That is exactly why one dispatch area at a time is often the best way to start.
Download the Scanner Radio app, search for Philadelphia, and pick a feed. Philadelphia Police - Citywide is a good first listen. For fire and EMS, add Philadelphia Fire Dispatch - North or Philadelphia Fire - South Fire/South Medics.
Yes. Listening to public safety radio is legal in Pennsylvania and across the United States. The law targets using scanner information to commit a crime, not listening itself.
No. Philadelphia police and fire use a digital trunked radio system, so a compatible scanner costs several hundred dollars and needs programming. The Scanner Radio app plays the same traffic on your phone.
Start with Philadelphia Police - Citywide, then add the dispatch area feed for your part of the city, such as Philadelphia Police Dispatch - South or Philadelphia Police Dispatch - Northeast.
Twenty patrol districts, grouped into six divisions, plus a separate district at the airport. Radio dispatch is split by area, with feeds such as Philadelphia Police Dispatch - North and Philadelphia Police Dispatch - Southwest.
Yes. Scanner Radio is free on iOS and Android, and the Philadelphia feeds stream at no cost.
Listening from somewhere else? Swipe through our other city guides.
