NCJ Number
182111
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2000 Pages: 68-72
Editor(s)
Ronnie Paynter
Date Published
April 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The Border Research and Technology Center (BRTC) in San Diego, California, supports and partners with local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies along the borders with Mexico and Canada to strengthen technological capabilities.
Abstract
The BRTC has tested thermal images called SMIRTII and has rotated these devices among several border agencies. Like cooled thermal imagers, the devices measure differentials in temperature between a subject and the surrounding environment. The heat-sensing cameras are used by law enforcement, along with Generation III night vision goggles that amplify the ambient light. The BRTC also partners with the Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center to develop and transfer technology to State and local law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Customs Service uses three types of technology to control smuggling: (1) initial targeting using artificial intelligence computers; (2) fiberscope that allows agents to "snake" it into gas tanks and side panels that otherwise could not be viewed; and (3) sophisticated x-ray systems. Like the U.S. Customs Service, the U.S. Border Patrol is responsible for stemming the tide of illegal drugs and undocumented aliens. The U.S. Border Patrol uses many different technologies, including infrared cameras, night vision goggles, hand-held searchlights with a band that reaches more than a mile, seismic and infrared sensors, and fiberscopes. 3 photographs