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Seeing night vision technology in a new light
To see and not be seen? Priceless…
It’s three in the morning. You’re “camoed up and burrowed down” in the tall grass of a local farmer’s property, just a few feet from the plowed field that houses two large anhydrous ammonia tanks. Anhydrous Ammonia is an essential ingredient to the meth chef, and lately a group of perpetrators has been robbing the local farmer’s “blind.” Your top brass has given you – and the rest of the members of your Narc Ops Team – the task of covertly catching the bad guys out there in the darkened, bucolic expanse.
It is pitch black out and the only sound is the rustling of some slithering critters in the high grass, looking for his next meal. Suddenly, you hear a faint sound in the distance, and quickly it becomes louder and closer as the sound of the engine in a four wheel drive truck is upon you in seconds. You hear voices and clanging metal as you grip your weapon and wait for the exact moment to strike.
Fortunately, because of your use and availability of state of the art night vision, you can see the perpetrators the same as if it were broad daylight. As you and your comrades emerge from the high grass, the suspects have no idea what is upon them until they are lit up like a Christmas tree from AR-15 mounted flashlights and taken into custody.
But without the use of night vision, you could have been at an extreme tactical disadvantage. Modern technology has increased Law Enforcement’s effectiveness and the safety of the officer to fight crime. The many uses of night vision equipment is winning battles in many areas.
For example, many law enforcement agencies are also using night vision goggles in their efforts to develop probable cause when working highway drug interdiction. Officer’s now have the ability to sit stationary, blacked out on highways and use the night vision to check for seat belt violations, or other violations that typically could not be seen working the midnight shift.
Night vision has been essential for surveillance tactics in meth lab operations, and shown to be effective. Thermal imaging devices as well, when accompanied by a necessary search warrant has begun to gain momentum as well.
One disadvantage to the use of night vision capabilities is that you must always be aware that the bad guys may be using it as well for counter surveillance. You can get into the mind of these meth cooks by accessing their blogs and chat rooms on the internet and see how they are utilizing the technology out there. Although they may have a commercial version meant for civilian shenanigans, you must still plan appropriately for the possibility that they’re conducting counter surveillance. In the instance of anhydrous surveillance or rural meth lab surveillance, it is extremely important to use all methods of covert cover, including camouflage, team communications, and proper radio earphones to avoid any change of unnecessarily blowing you or your teams cover.
Because obtaining night vision equipment can represent a significant budget request, the importance of officer safety must be stressed when you’re requesting this funding from your department. Other non-traditional funding options are also available. Grants can be obtained to help fund night vision equipment. Donations, such as from farmers that are being hit or neighbors of recently “busted” meth labs may donate to the cause. Pro-police business owners often will donate funds as a tax write-off as well. And don’t forget to tap into the U.S. Military surplus that is available by filling out the proper paperwork for your agency.
There are many companies in the night vision industry, and you should seek out law enforcement and/or military-grade equipment and the companies that supply them. You’ll be very glad you did.
Good luck, stay safe, and happy hunting.
