Military Tech Tools Aid Deputies In Sky
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Air Unit has purchased advanced search technology through a $387,000 Homeland Defense grant.
The helicopter crew can now use night-vision goggles, Forward Looking Infrared color cameras (FLIR), digital map overlays, and other military-style equipment for rescue missions or to locate suspects from the air.
The crew participated in 36 arrests, recovered $154,000 in property, and seized $1.2 million in illegal drugs last year alone.
The helicopter averages eight flight hours per week in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Baldwin county, Ala. The crew recently used FLIR to apprehend suspects fleeing from Avondale Park after causing a disturbance.
FLIR can identify the heat generation of both inanimate and animate sources, which allowed the crew to lead ground officers to the suspects as they fled. Other successful missions include finding a lost hog hunter and identifying false alarms that waste resources.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Pensacola News Journal (04/22/03) P. 1C; Smith, Sean.