A rap song playing on a Hawke's Bay police radio channel has prompted a warning that interference with a police radio is a prosecutable offence.
Rapper Tupac Shakur's song "Shorty Wanna Be A Thug" was broadcast in full over a four-minute period on Wednesday afternoon about 1.30pm.
The track by Shakur - also known as 2Pac - was on his "All Eyez on Me" album and includes explicit lyrics that talk about the dangers of a young man entering a gangster lifestyle.
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It was his last album produced before his death, aged just 25, in a drive-by shooting in 1996.
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Advertise with NZME.Police would not comment on the specific incident, but a spokesperson said any interference with a police radio was deemed a risk to public safety.
"Anyone caught doing so may be prosecuted under sections 113 and 114 of the Radiocommunications Act 1989 for transmitting radio waves without a licence."
It's not the first time such a warning has been issued.
In 2017 Upper Hutt man Andrew Holt, an avid listener of police scanners, reported hearing pig oink sounds as well as someone singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and lyrics from other rap songs.
NZ Herald reported at the time the person responsible could face up to a year in prison for criminal nuisance.