RCMP KEEP THEIR EYES ON CRIME

Mission Rcmp Are Looking For Hot Property - Literally.

The detachment has just purchased a forward-looking infrared camera to help
with finding everything from lost children to grow ops.

Looking through the camera's viewfinder, a trained officer can judge the
heat that objects give off by how white they look.

Which is how they find houses with marijuana grow operations inside: the
extra light and heat needed for the plants really heat up the walls.

"I can't see through walls with this thing," explains Const. Chuck Singh,
one of Mission's three officers trained to use the camera. "I can only see
what the walls are giving off."

Although the camera doesn't pierce solid objects - it can't even see
through glass - it could find people who are lost in the woods, even if
they're out of sight, because body heat will radiate out and around a tree.

"That infrared energy still gets out," says Singh.

Nor is anyone going to see Singh walking around town looking at houses
through the camera to see which ones are giving off an extraordinary amount
of heat.

The infrared camera just supplements knowledge police have already gathered
through other investigations.

"I can't use the camera as grounds for a search warrant," Singh says. "This
is strictly another tool I use in conjunction with other means to gather
evidence.

"But in an investigation where I need one more piece of evidence, this
might be the tie-breaker for me."

Mission RCMP also think their traffic officers can use the camera in their
safety checks.

If all the brakes on a truck are working evenly, all the wheels will be
giving off the same amount of heat and look the same through the camera.
But if one isn't working or another is working too hard, the camera will
show it.

"Any wheel that looks different, that's one the police officer is wanting
to be looking at," Singh says. "It's an excellent tool for that."

Manufacturers who dump uncooled water in the river - and risk harming fish
- - are also on the list of people the Mission RCMP can check out with the
new camera.

Flying over the river, the water looks grey through the camera because it's
cool. But a stream of white would indicate warmer water, and police can
follow it right to its source.

The U.S. military developed the forward-looking infrared camera in the late
1950s, but it wasn't until the early 1980s that it was first used in police
work.

Relatively new to Canada, it's much more common in the States, where even
some fire departments have one so firefighters can find people in
smoke-filled rooms.

Singh went down to Texas to learn how to use the camera, along with Cpl.
Murray Power. Their trip was partially sponsored by the Mission Rotary and
Kinsmen service clubs.

Another member of the Mission RCMP detachment is already trained to use the
camera.

Anyone in the detachment can use it in an emergency -- such as looking for
a lost child - but only those with special training can use it during an
investigation and are considered experts in its use for court purposes.

Singh explains that the time spent in Texas was a combination of class time
during the day and practical applications at night.

"My training allows me to interpret what the camera is telling me," Singh says.

The training was put on by the Law Enforcement Thermographers Association,
the only body the RCMP recognizes as able to train in the use of this type
of camera.

Getting the camera in Mission was a local initiative - not all detachments
have one. The nearest one before was in Chilliwack.

"Now we've one of our own and we can look after ourselves," Singh says,
adding it's a tool that benefits everyone. "If it helps me do my job, it
helps make the community a little safer.