Thermal Cameras Are ‘Hot’ on Villains’ Heels!.doc

Week 11 Thermal Cameras Are ‘Hot’ on Villains’ Heels! A novel way of tracking criminals has hit the streets of North West Leeds – and it’s ‘hot’ on the heels of local offenders … The division has been chosen to be the pilot area for testing the use of thermal imaging cameras. They were trialled recently by officers from the North West Inner Neighbourhood Policing Team NPT during a dedicated ‘day of action’ on the Hawksworth estate which saw police officers and PCSOs acting on concerns voiced by the local community about youths committing crime and antisocial behaviour. Inspector Ian Croft, who heads the NPT, organised the action day, working in partnership with Safer Leeds, Leeds City Council, the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, Street Scene and various other agencies. The camera has a sensor that detects thermal radiation and converts it into electrical signals. This then results in an image on the camera’s display screen. This process makes it possible to see things which would otherwise be invisible to the human eye. Inspector Croft said: “This is new technology used by West Yorkshire Police and something that I am keen to make use of in our local neighbourhood. It has the capacity to find such things as cannabis factories, track offenders when they are trying to hide and works very similar to the ones used in the police helicopters, so be warned, the kit is in use and there will be no more hiding places.” Chief Inspector Paul Money, Head of Neighbourhood Policing Support for the division, said: “In North West Leeds we are always looking for new, innovative ways in which we can reduce crime and the harm it causes communities. The camera actually has a multitude of uses, from helping to identify premises used for the production of cannabis, through to personnel tracking capability, due to the cameras’ capacity to pick up residual thermal radiation.” “This can be of considerable assistance for officers searching undergrowth and buildings for suspects of crime and mi