yeah, to a point. If you really want to hear conversations, drop $100 more and get something more powerful. I'd look at the 760XLT or, if you can swing it, the 785D, which is a 3-system trunking scanner. A lot of cops are using a trunking system, which is frequency agile. Normal scanners can't follow the hops, so you lose the conversation. You need a trunk tracker to follow them. This gets more complicated by the fact that there are 3 different trunking systems out there, so even a trunking scanner may not be able to track the particular system in your area.
You should also be aware that the BCT12 can ONLY track the freqs it's been preprogrammed with. The better scanners allow you to set your own freqs to monitor, which you can program straight off of your computer. Several databases are available online (and radio shack may still maintain a local list) that will give you your local freqs.
Fun eh?
At the very least, expect to upgrade the antenna on the BCT12 - that tiny little antenna doesn't pick up signals for crap.