AIR PATROL GETS HIGH-TECH HELP

SGI Outfits Police Plane With Thermal Imaging Camera

City police have another eye in the sky, with the addition of thermal
imaging to their surveillance aircraft.

The round, glassy black ball turns in its socket, attached to the side
of a neatly painted white and blue Cessna. The rotating camera feeds
into a screen inside the plane, which was controlled by Const. Aaron
Piprell on Monday. His job is to monitor the Saskatoon Police
Service's newly installed $300,000 thermal imaging camera.

"It's a heat detector," Piprell said.

Houses used for marijuana grow operations give off a bright red glow.
People can be tracked in parks or wooded areas around the city. A
suspect who abandons his or her vehicle to flee on foot can be tracked
by police from above, with the suspect's heat detected by the camera,
which is used mainly for nighttime surveillance. Officers in the plane
can then communicate with patrol cars and officers on the ground.

At a press conference on Monday, city police opened the doors of
Mitchinson flying school, giving reporters a look at the technology
now attached to the side of the police airplane. The camera was
installed at a cost of $60,000 per year over five years, funded by
SGI.

The new camera allows the service to fly higher than 3,000 feet, as
well as film and record the surveillance. Prior to the camera's
installation in March, police officers in the plane used binoculars
and flew lower.

"With this unit we have a complete computerized digital film of
everything that happens," said Chief Clive Weighill.

The footage can later be used in court as evidence.

"We can see it enhances safety and enhances loss prevention," said
Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff.

He said most people he's talked to are pleased to see surveillance
aircraft in use by the police.

"It sends a message to anybody thinking about committing a crime out
there that they better think twice," Cheveldayoff said.

Officers run 800 hours of surveillance per year at a cost of $172,000.
The Cessna 182 aircraft is leased in a three-year contract with
Mitchinson Flying Service, which includes the cost of fuel.

Two city police officers are trained pilots. The other two flight
observers are regular constables. When not in the air, they work as
regular patrol officers.

Aerial surveillance was introduced by the police service on a trial
basis in 2005. The aircraft now flies surveillance two to three times
per week, year round.