Is ham what the police use?
uhm...similar, but on different frequencies i think.
why do you have to be licensed?
Because the FCC says so.
![Green Grin :greengrin:](https://board.marlincrawler.com/Smileys/marlin/greengrin.gif)
I assume because it is a pretty powerful radio, and HAM radio is used a lot more as a "station" not a mobile unit...there is a lot to know about operating it correctly.