Under which circumstance can police scanners be used without violating the wiretap act?

The use of police scanners without violating the wiretap act is permissible when communications are open to public access. This means that if the information being transmitted over the airwaves is not intended to be private and is available to the public, individuals may listen to it without infringing on privacy rights or violating wiretap laws.

Public access communications include those conversations or transmissions that are broadcast openly, such as certain frequencies used by police, fire departments, and emergency services. Since these communications are designed to be heard by the public, monitoring them does not breach any privacy regulations.

In contrast, scanning in a private location, during legal investigations only, or any time during emergencies would involve different legal considerations and restrictions regarding privacy and lawful interception. These situations do not inherently guarantee that the communications are open to public access, which is the critical factor for lawful scanning.