NCJ Number
217547
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 34 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 46,49-52,54,55
Date Published
February 2007
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article presents an overview of various night vision techniques and technologies enabling law enforcement officers to better find their way in the darkness.
Abstract
Night vision technology provides law enforcement with miracle vision in the dark and improvement of vision in low-light environments. This technology is a mixture of several different methods, such as low-light imaging, thermal imaging, and near-infrared illumination. The most common applications in law enforcement include night security and surveillance and search and rescue. Night vision technologies provide law enforcement professionals with an additional level of safety, secrecy, and sight after sundown. One of the most popular and well-known methods of night vision is low-light imaging based on the use of image intensifiers. Different from low-light, thermal imaging night vision methods do not require any ambient light. They operate on the principal that all objects emit infrared energy as a function of their temperature. A popular and sometimes inexpensive method of performing night vision is by near-infrared illumination. In this method, a device sensitive to invisible near-infrared radiation is used in conjunction with an infrared illuminator. This method is used in a variety of applications, such as perimeter protection.