Police scanner map: hear the dispatch behind every incident
World Monitor puts US police, fire and EMS incidents on a map. Each pin carries the dispatch-radio clips it was built from and a short AI summary, so you can see where something happened and hear how it was called in. It runs free in your browser, with no account.
Free on the web · iPhone and Android apps · US coverage only
A map of incidents, not a list of feeds
Most police scanner sites are directories. You pick a county, press play and listen to whatever comes over that channel. That works when you already know where to listen. It does not tell you where something is happening.
World Monitor starts from the other end. When dispatch traffic describes a notable incident, such as a working structure fire, a serious crash, a rescue or a hazmat response, the incident becomes a pin at its approximate location. Open the pin and you get the DISPATCH SITREP: the category and place, a short AI-written report, the AI transcript of each transmission, and the original radio clips in order.
- Category
- Working fire, vehicle crash, collapse and rescue, hazmat, aviation, rail, marine, severe weather, violent incidents and other calls. Filter the map to the ones you care about.
- Replay
- The radio transmissions behind the incident, playable one by one or back to back.
- AI report
- A few plain-language lines on what the radio traffic describes.
- Comms log
- One row per transmission, each with its AI transcript.
- Location
- The approximate place, with a street-level or satellite image where one is available.
- Status
- Whether radio traffic on the incident is still active or has gone quiet.
From public radio to a pin on the map
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Step 01 · Listen
Public dispatch audio
Police, fire and EMS dispatchers talk on radio channels anyone with a scanner can receive. The service works from recorded clips of that public audio. It does not decrypt anything; encrypted channels are simply not covered.
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Step 02 · Transcribe
Clips become incidents
Clips are transcribed by AI and grouped into incidents. Calls that describe a notable incident are kept. Routine traffic is not mapped.
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Step 03 · Pin
Placed and sorted
Each incident is placed at its approximate location and given a category, so you can filter the map to fires, crashes, rescues and more.
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Step 04 · Replay
Tap and listen
Open a pin to read the report and play the clips. Or tune one of the 50 state channels in the feed: each plays that state's recent calls newest first, like a scanner that skips the dead air.
DISPATCH REPLAYS. The service checks for new incidents every five minutes, and an open map refreshes about once a minute. You hear recorded clips that are minutes old, not a live stream.
Scanner directories, city apps and World Monitor
Feed directories such as Broadcastify stream live audio channel by channel, and their maps show where each feed is. That is the right tool if you want to leave one channel running for hours. World Monitor is the better tool when you want to know what happened, where, and what was said about it, without sitting through the quiet in between.
Single-city incident maps can be very good for their area, but they stop at the city line and often need their own app. World Monitor covers the whole US on one map, next to world news, conflict zones, earthquakes and wildfires, and it opens in any modern browser.
| Scanner feed directories | City incident apps | World Monitor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the map shows | Where each audio feed is | Incidents in one city or region | Where each incident is, US-wide |
| Audio | A continuous live channel | Varies by app | The recorded calls behind each incident |
| Summary | None; you listen and interpret | Varies by app | AI report and transcripts per incident |
| Wider context | Audio only | Local only | World news, conflicts, quakes and fires on the same map |
| Where it runs | Web and apps | Usually an app | Browser, free; iPhone and Android apps optional |
What it is not
- US onlyDispatch incidents cover the United States. The rest of the map is worldwide; dispatch audio is not.
- Uneven coverageOnly incidents from audio the service receives can be mapped. Some agencies encrypt their radio, and some areas have no coverage at all.
- ReplaysYou hear recorded clips minutes after they were broadcast, not an open live channel.
- Not every callRoutine traffic is left off the map. A quiet map does not mean nothing is happening.
- AI can be wrongTranscripts and reports are written by AI from radio audio and may contain errors. Locations are approximate. Nothing here is an official record: verify with official sources before acting, and call 911 in an emergency.
Open the map. Tap a pin. Hear the call.
The web app is free and needs no account. The iPhone and Android apps are free to download, with an optional premium subscription.
Questions about the police scanner map
Is the police scanner map free?
Yes, on the web. World Monitor Live at worldmonitor.news/live is free to use, with no account and no sign-up. The iPhone and Android apps are free to download and offer an optional premium subscription.
Is it legal to listen to police dispatch audio?
In most of the US, listening to unencrypted public-safety radio is legal, and the clips World Monitor plays come from that public audio. Some states restrict scanner use in vehicles or in connection with a crime. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which cities and states are covered?
Incidents can appear anywhere in the US where public dispatch audio is received, and the feed has a channel for each of the 50 states. Coverage is uneven: busy metro areas tend to produce more incidents, and areas where agencies encrypt their radio produce none. Open the map and pan to your area to see what is there.
Do I need to install an app?
No. The map runs in any modern browser on a computer or phone. If you prefer an app, World Monitor is also on the App Store and Google Play.
How fresh are the incidents?
The service checks for new incidents every five minutes, and an open map refreshes about once a minute. You hear dispatch replays, recorded clips that are minutes old, not a live stream.
Where do the audio and the summaries come from?
The audio is public-safety dispatch radio. The transcripts and the short report on each incident are written by AI from that audio and may contain errors, and locations are approximate. Nothing on the map is an official record.