John Roca cruised through Midtown Manhattan on a recent night just as the streetlights flicked on, his camera in the back seat of his sedan. It had been a slow day for Mr. Roca, a photojournalist who has chased breaking news in New York City for a half-century. “This one might have legs,” Mr. Roca said, and he punched the car’s accelerator. But a new $500 million radio system the New York Police Department introduced this past summer encrypts officers’ communications, meaning the public, including members of the press, will no longer be able to listen in. The project will take at least five years to complete, though some frequencies have already gone dark.

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Persons: John Roca, Roca, Mr Organizations: New York Police Department Locations: Midtown Manhattan, New York City