Censored D.C. Fire & EMS twitter feeds and MPD radio silence raise questions about whether D.C.'s new policies do more harm than good.

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Deputy mayor Paul Quander says it's all about safety.

“Police communications is private for a reason,” he said. “There are safety concerns, there are logistical and operational concerns.”

But secure lines of communication are already available to D.C. Police.

Encrypting MPD radio transmissions - heard on scanners - has already handicapped other law enforcement agencies. Sixty percent of Prince George's County Police radios are not equipped to hear encrypted information - information agencies depend on sharing.

If there's a legitimate safety concern, some people say they understand.

But even those who can accept the encryption say they don't understand censoring tweets and taking away its very essence: Instant, real-time information.

D.C. Fire has nearly 10,000 followers who use it to track emergency situations as they happen, like a wildfire for example.

Experts in crisis communication are criticizing the district for "un-informing" the public by filtering tweets.

Despite being pressed by reporters to explain why tweets would be censored no one at the press conference would answer, other than to say a tweet "imperiled" another D.C. agency.

See Mayor Vincent Gray and other D.C. officials defend their policies at a Wednesday press conference.