WSP touts infrared cameras

Sun., May 28, 2006

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

TACOMA – A new high-tech camera system is giving Washington State Patrol pilots an amazing close-up view to help in crime fighting and in search and rescue work.

The forward-looking infrared cameras are equipped with powerful zoom lenses and heat-detecting technology, said Lt. Tristan Atkins, supervisor of the State Patrol aviation division, which demonstrated the two airplane-mounted cameras on Friday.

The camera lenses give a highly detailed view of things on the ground, even from high altitudes, said Trooper Troy Davis, a State Patrol pilot.

Pilots monitoring a high-speed chase or an aggressive driver now can pass specific vehicle and driver descriptions to law enforcement officers on the ground, Davis said. The infrared devices detect heat, which can help WSP pilots find people missing in the woods or suspects trying to hide in the bushes, especially at night, he said.

State Patrol pilots recently used a specially equipped airplane to provide night surveillance of a standoff in the Olympia area. They also used the cameras to provide intelligence before a raid on a motorcycle gang in the Spokane area in February.

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