Taken from police chief magazine, at http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=1527&issue_id=62008
Marijuana Investigations: Indoor marijuana growing operations can also be uncovered by thermal imagers, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kyllo v. United States that law enforcement officers must obtain a search warrant before examining a private dwelling with thermal imaging technology.3 An application for a search warrant for indoor marijuana cultivation can be supported by any of the following:
The trend over the last decade for outdoor marijuana growers has been to use smaller and well-concealed sites. Using a thermal imager from an aerial platform during daylight, officers can locate marijuana plants. It is common for these plants to be grown among weeds, tall grass, and tree saplings in an overgrown field. Imagers can pick out the marijuana plants because the ground around them is turned during planting and the vegetation around the immediate base of the plants is generally trimmed away to allow water and nutrients to penetrate the soil. The cleared ground cover and the turned soil cause the sun’s heat to be absorbed at a higher rate than the rest of the surrounding ground. This change in heat absorption causes the areas around the plants to emit much higher heat, which thermal imagers are designed to detect.
To save you some time, here are the search results for the word Marijuana at that site too, in case you want to read more about the enemy! http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=search_rs&keyword=marijuana&x=0&y=0
Marijuana Investigations: Indoor marijuana growing operations can also be uncovered by thermal imagers, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kyllo v. United States that law enforcement officers must obtain a search warrant before examining a private dwelling with thermal imaging technology.3 An application for a search warrant for indoor marijuana cultivation can be supported by any of the following:
- Information that the person residing at the suspected location has a past history of marijuana cultivation
- Information that the suspects have purchased indoor lighting devices or other equipment or supplies necessary for indoor plant growth
- Records of utility use that indicate unusually high consumption of power or water when compared to similar structures in the immediate area
- Possession of electricity-generating equipment without an identifiable need or purpose
- Information from local retail gas suppliers or welding supply outlets that suspects have purchased containers of carbon dioxide or other gases that have the effect of increasing plant growth, without another apparent reason for the need
- Detection of the odor of marijuana or marijuana clippings in the immediate vicinity of the suspected dwelling
The trend over the last decade for outdoor marijuana growers has been to use smaller and well-concealed sites. Using a thermal imager from an aerial platform during daylight, officers can locate marijuana plants. It is common for these plants to be grown among weeds, tall grass, and tree saplings in an overgrown field. Imagers can pick out the marijuana plants because the ground around them is turned during planting and the vegetation around the immediate base of the plants is generally trimmed away to allow water and nutrients to penetrate the soil. The cleared ground cover and the turned soil cause the sun’s heat to be absorbed at a higher rate than the rest of the surrounding ground. This change in heat absorption causes the areas around the plants to emit much higher heat, which thermal imagers are designed to detect.
To save you some time, here are the search results for the word Marijuana at that site too, in case you want to read more about the enemy! http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=search_rs&keyword=marijuana&x=0&y=0
