THERMAL IMAGING RULING ONE MORE STEP FOR POLICE

Drug-Detection Method Not Integral To Job, Area Law Enforcement Officials Say

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this week that limited how police can
use thermal imaging devices to root out marijuana growers will affect
some local law enforcement agencies, but won't stifle their efforts.
The court ruled that officers must get a search warrant before using
the devices to detect excess heat from houses where marijuana might be
growing under high-powered sunlamps. Until the court's 5-4 ruling that
using the thermal imaging device violated the constitutional right to
privacy, police used the heat detection patterns as evidence of
probable cause to get search warrants to enter the homes. The court
said police were using a "device that is not in general public use to
explore details of a private home that would previously have been
unknowable without physical intrusion." Drug Enforcement
Administration agents have used thermal imaging in Charleston and
across South Carolina for several years, acting special agent Jim
Matthews said. "It's a great tool, a great final nail in the coffin
for confirming what we usually already suspect is going on," he said.
In the past, agents trained the devices on houses where they had other
reasons to suspect that someone was growing marijuana, Matthews said.
DEA agents here did not cruise around with the thermal imaging devices
to detect random high readings, he said. "It's more like we know that
someone has a $900 power bill or are stealing power, and we have other
reasons to suspect that's what's going on, then we point the imaging
device at the house, and it just lights up and confirms what we
thought," he said. The ruling just means another step in the
investigations, law enforcement officials said. "Defense lawyers know
it's a pain to get a search warrant already.

This is just another way to slow us down," Matthews said. Tracking
marijuana growers is only a small part of the DEA's efforts, which
also focus on cocaine, crack, methamphetamines and other drugs.
Charleston County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mitch Lucas wouldn't say
if his agency uses thermal imaging devices. "We don't discuss what
type of equipment we have, but if we did have it, we'd follow the
court guidelines. It's one element in the construction you use to
build a case. We'll just adapt," he said. The North Charleston Police
Department has occasionally used the devices, said Sgt. Kevin Hux,
supervisor of the narcotics division. "To me, the court seemed to be
drawing a line for the use of future technology, too. If it's
necessary, we have the capability to use these devices, but we're not
driving around with millions of dollars of equipment looking to catch
someone.

It's not a major blow, just an added step," he said. The Charleston
Police Department doesn't have the devices, spokesman Charles Frances
said. The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office won't be affected because
they rarely use the devices, Capt. Ricky Driggers said. In Dorchester
County, the device is rarely used, Lt. James Nettles said. "I can't
say I'm happy with the decision, but I don't see where it will impact
us a great deal," he said.