Thermal-imaging camera will boost law enforcement efforts
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
It's going to be more difficult for lawbreakers to get away from sheriff's officers now that the department has a thermal-imaging camera.
The special camera, manufactured by Raytheon, was obtained through a federal grant for drug enforcement. Marion County Sheriff Lee Becker and Sergeant Jeff Soyez recently spent three days in Florida learning how to use it.
The hand-held unit detects the relative surface temperature of an object. Fresh footprints, tire tracks, and individuals stand out from surroundings when viewed through the special lens.
The camera works in the dark and can see through smoke, although it can't be used in a burning building.
Becker foresees using the camera to track down fugitives from justice, finding a lost or missing person, finding indoor marijuana groves, and pursuing vehicles. It also will be used to survey perimeter areas at a crime scene for officer safety. It has a range of one-half mile.
In addition, the camera can detect things buried under the surface of the ground or hidden in a wall or compartments in vehicles. It can detect cracks in concrete.
The camera already has been used to track and capture a crime suspect.
The sheriff's office received a call at 10:18 p.m. Friday about a suspicious person spotted around anhydrous ammonia tanks near Burns.
Sergeant Jeff Soyez and Deputies Rollin Schmidt and Larry Starkey responded, along with Burns Police Chief Aaron Waddell, Peabody Police Officer Bruce Burke, and an officer from Butler County.
When the suspect saw the officers, he crawled low along the ground in an attempt to elude them but, using the thermal-imaging camera, they were able to find him within a short time.
Michael Sharp, 22, of Rosalia was arrested.
"What used to take a couple of hours took officers only 15 minutes," Becker said.
He purchased about $1,000 in auxiliary equipment for the $13,000 camera to record images as evidence and for review by officers.
Becker said he and Soyez will be glad to assist others such as firefighters, police officers, and utility crews in situations where the special camera will be useful.
"It's a very worthwhile item," he concluded.
