What Are the Manifold Ways by Which Law Enforcement Agencies Use Thermal Imaging Cameras

Law enforcement agencies often rely on technology for a wide range of purposes. As such, it is hardly surprising that they use thermal imaging cameras in their daily work. Police officers can observe suspects or intruders concealed in bushes or dark alleys. In addition, they can easily watch people running in the night, even through the cover of trees. Thermal imaging cameras can make it easier for police to collect evidence from a crime site. With this technology, police officers can spot objects discarded by the suspect. Some officers even use these cameras for spotting objects concealed behind walls such as drugs or money. When concealed behind walls, these objects act like insulation material. As such, they will produce a different thermal image as opposed to the adjoining sections of the wall. 

Other areas that these cameras come into use by law enforcement officers include:

Perimeter Security and Surveillance: These cameras make it easier for officers to contain and apprehend a suspect. Moreover, they enable officers to prevent unwanted intruders from entering a restricted area too. 
Detecting Hidden Compartments: Infrared imaging cameras can detect hidden compartments in buildings and walls. Criminals often use these compartments for concealing money or drugs. Thermal imagers can highlight structural details that the naked eye cannot see. The change in thermal characteristics of the compartment vis-à-vis the adjoining area indicates the presence of concealed compartments.
Marine and Ground Surveillance: These cameras make night-time navigation on the waters considerably easier. Even in zero visibility conditions, these cameras can highlight the presence of intruders.
Tracking Pollutants: Oils, chemicals and other waste matter often emit heat differently from the soil or water that surrounds them. Infrared imaging devices can track these pollutants back to their source. 
Pursuing Vehicles: Vehicles tend to radiate substantial amounts of heat. Police aircraft can use these imaging devices to track the vehicles of criminals from the air. This is possible even if the car’s lights are turned off. 
Search and Rescue Missions: Infrared imagers enable officers to carry out search and rescue missions. These devices enable officers to cover large areas quickly and with much lesser manpower. More importantly, these devices can work in the darkness as well. So, locating lost people can become much easier. When locating criminals, officers can track the whereabouts of a criminal without giving away their own location.