Police scanner apps let you listen in to public radio feeds on your phone for police, fire, and other emergency departments. You can stay up to date with any crimes or emergencies going on in your area. Or you can listen to live radio feeds from other cities or even other countries just for fun.
Here’s our list of the best free police scanner apps for Android.
Are Police Scanner Apps Legal?
Before we begin, it’s worth mentioning that you should check the local laws in your area to make sure you’re using police radio scanners online legally. In the United States, for example, some states have certain stipulations, like you can’t listen to a police scanner while you’re driving.
So before you download an app and start using it, make sure you know all the laws involved.
1. Police Scanner
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for (var i = 0; i Police Scanner has live audio feeds from over 7,000 scanners throughout the world, though primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The app gives you the option to filter audio stations by the news you want to hear, like Public Safety, Aviation, and Rail.
You can browse the 25 most popular stations or you can search for stations nearby you. When you open a station to listen to it, you can back out of the app and continue listening to the live feed while you’re doing other things on your phone. If you find a feed you enjoy listening to, you can favorite it and easily find it later.
Plus, there’s a handy list of a ton of police scanner codes so you can interpret what you’re hearing.
Download: Police Scanner (Free)
2. Police Scanner 5-0
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for (var i = 0; i Although its interface may look a tad outdated, Police Scanner 5-0 is another great option if you’re looking to listen in on live radio feeds near you. There are over 5,000 radio feeds for police, fire, rescue, and more. Once you find one you like, you can favorite it and come back to it quicker next time.
While you’re listening to a live feed, you can report a crime through the Breaking News tab. And this app has you covered with police jargon too. You can learn police codes and other technical lingo right from the app.
This app covers live streams across the United States, so there should be a local feed near you. If you want to experience the app without ads, you can upgrade to a premium version.
Download: Police Scanner 5-0 (Free, premium version available)
3. Scanner Radio
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for (var i = 0; i With the Scanner Radio app, you’ll have access to over 7,000 fire and police scanners, weather radios, and more from all over the world. You can browse these stations by genre or location, so you should be able to listen to police scanners in your area.
Plus, if you keep this feature enabled, you can receive notifications when a scanner within a short distance of your location exceeds a certain amount of listeners. You can also get notifications when an alert is posted for one of your favorite live streams.
Similar to Police Scanner 5-0, there is a premium, ad-free version of this app you can purchase for a one-time fee. In addition to not having to deal with ads, the premium version also gives you the ability to record audio within the app and have push notifications sent within 5 minutes instead of 15 minutes.
Download: Scanner Radio (Free, premium version available)
4. Police Scanner
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for (var i = 0; i This Police Scanner app is another one that allows you to listen to the live stream in the background while you’re using other apps on your phone. There are live streams for all the same industries as the other apps, like police, fire, emergency, marine, and more.
You can also receive alerts for major events, breaking news, or any other emergencies. And if you ever want to go to bed listening to a live police scanner, there’s a sleep timer in this app.
Download: Police Scanner (Free, subscription available)
5. Police Scanner Live
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for (var i = 0; i Police Scanner Live has over 8,000 live radio feeds you can listen to. Of course, it includes feeds from police, fire, and other emergency departments. This police scanner has feeds in a ton of different countries, including in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Japan.
There are three different ways you can choose a feed. You can browse through the top feeds at the time and listen to what most people are listening to; you can find a station near you for local news; or you can browse by category to listen to specific departmental news.
Download: Police Scanner Live (Free)
Start Using Your Phone to Listen and Talk on Live Channels
Whether you’re using a police scanner app for entertainment or to stay up to date with emergencies and crime in your area, it can be a great, easily accessible resource.
If the idea of live radio feeds intrigues you, you should check out walkie talkie apps for your smartphone. You can use an app on your phone to mimic a walkie talkie and set channels for you and your friends to talk on. How cool is that!