The local amateur radio club is called the Texas Emergency Amateur Communicators (TEAC). It's an active club with about 100 members. More info at their website
www.teac.net/

@Quixote : Can they be hacked to pick these up? I know that these radios can be connected to a computer. Or are they just not technically capable on a hardware level?

@ZMAN : Looking this up, I saw a few youtube videos that were a crash course about the radio. Have you watched any?

@eighteen : Not yet, but I plan to over the weekend

@ZMAN : Baofengs need a special cable about $5 and they can be programmed from a free program called CHIRP.

@ZMAN : Unfortunately no. Apart from the technical aspects of frequency generation, police use "trunking" radio systems consisting of:- A System Controller - Assigns voice frequencies to active channels- A Voice Frequency Pool - Used for voice communications within the system- Thousands of Talk Group IDs - Used to identify channels within the systemEach radio broadcast is computer-routed and two calls from an officer (even seconds apart) can be routed through separate trunking assignments. Think of it as "listening to a car radio" and having to change channels between multiple stations to hear the music". Only in nanoseconds. On top of that, there are different proprietary trunking systems among Harris County and Texas/Federal agencies.Sorry.

@ZMAN :
Did you get a chance to try these radios out during the power outage? The day of the hurricane, my older neighbor mentioned how useful they are in situations like this.

@ZMAN :
Never heard of this. But the last thing I need at this point is more stuff. But it sounds great for you!

My 81 year old husband has been a ham radio operator since he was 18 years old (got his license then). Still an active member of the ARRL and it is a good hobby - it has kept him out in the shed with his station lol. Antennas on the roof and in the yard. Drives me crazy, but hey he knows Morse code.

I really enjoyed my CB radio years ago so I think you'll enjoy it.
Best Christmas present ever.