Michigan police are using FLIR

[EasyBakeIndica]

Further evidence that Detroit police are using FLIR to zero in on grow houses. My guess is that they're trying this instead of "knock and talks"...

High-Flying Bust Nabs Father, Son Pot Farmers​

(WXYZ) -- The Oakland County Sheriff is hailing a helicopter camera that can see in the dark with helping to uncover a major marijuana farming operation run by a father and son.

James Miller, 59, and Jason Miller, 28, are being charged with numerous drug charges in connection with the indoor farm that was discovered by the sheriff's aviation unit.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard says the investigation started when an infrared camera strapped to a department helicopter "showed an unusually abundant amount of heat emitting" from the Miller's basement.

A raid on the home found 204 marijuana plants, 17 pounds of marijuana, 35 lidoderm patches, 100 methadone tablets, 100 percocet tablets, equipment to grow marijuana -- and numerous copies of the magazine High Times.

“This case is a disappointing head shaker,” Bouchard said in a statement. “To condone not only the use, but the manufacture and sale of drugs in a family operation is downright shameful.”

http://www.wxyz.com/news/story.aspx?content_id=75e3bb18-07d3-493c-a995-437bff185755

 

[whodi]

Whew... seems like the detroit police are using this shit a lot.

Maybe a good lawyer can help fix this for them.

 

[resinryder]

With the rulings being handed down by the Supreme Court in favor of whatever leo wants, don't be surprised if this soon becomes normal leo practice. Looks like they are wanting someone to challenge it.

 

[whodi]

Wonder how long it takes to spot houses.. because fuel for a helicopter and maintenance is very expensive. (much more than planes)

But i guess all it'd take is one little snitch and they'd fire the helicopter up.

 

[iluvtogrograss]

I love how they include the mention of High Times magazine in the news. That cracks me up. On a serious note FLIR sucks, the use of FLIR is just one more thing the government is using to the eradicate our personal freedoms.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

If you watch the video, they say the judge gave the OK, I guess that means a warrant was issued so it wasnt like they did this randomly.

Man we need people in the local community to get the facts and get all the public information (arrest affidavits, police reports, filings etc) so we know all the details behind these grow arrests.

Right now, we dont really know shit, just some guys got popped. But why? what lead up to the FLIR?

 

[HarryNugz]

Seems like if they're gonna grow in areas where the heat is on that you'd want to flower out the girls in a time when flir can't be used.

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

"After a 2 1/2 month investigation...Acting on a tip, the team began investigating the Millers, using an infrared camera on the office’s helicopter to see an unusually abundant amount of heat coming from the basement of the Millers' home."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/NEWS03/80516034/1005

 

[FrankRizzo]

I wonder how long it will be until they have one of those things wired into a satellite? F*ck the piggers will be able to do their snoopin like it's goggle earth.

 

[whodi]

just wait until they have FLIR without having to use a helicopter...

 

[Guest]

If you watch the video, they say the judge gave the OK, I guess that means a warrant was issued so it wasnt like they did this randomly.

Man we need people in the local community to get the facts and get all the public information (arrest affidavits, police reports, filings etc) so we know all the details behind these grow arrests.

Right now, we dont really know shit, just some guys got popped. But why? what lead up to the FLIR?

EXACTLY!

Also - I know there is a way to combat heat so that flir doesn't pick it up... cant find links?

 

[Maj.PotHead]

just wait until they have FLIR without having to use a helicopter...

UAV's unmaned airial vechiels small light weight and cheaper then helos to operate and can stay in air 10 fold longer then a helo

 

[Verite]

Gee, a 2.5 month investigation during the winter in detroit where you can throw a rock and hit canada and I guarantee you any occupied house with a furnace in the basement is going to have a significant heat signature there. Total weak sauce evidence.

 

[wafflehouselove]

How dumb can the cops be

Sheriff Michael Bouchard says the investigation started when an infrared camera strapped to a department helicopter "showed an unusually abundant amount of heat emitting" from the Miller's basement.

From my understanding of FLIRS they read the temperature of surface area. Now how can that be possible to read heat signals from a basement that is under a house and the house is cooled by ac. Isn't there something wrong with that? I dont have a basement so i dont know how the layout is but i think the basement is what is under the house.

 

[SpacedCWBY]

If your house is on a basement, chances are pretty good that the upper 12-24" of the walls are exposed on the exterior of the house. If the whole basement is 75 degrees and you only keep the upstairs living section around 65-70, that's probably not the best situation to be in. If you've only got a small section in the MIDDLE of the basement, your probably far better off as it won't heat up the whole basement to unreasonable temps. A hot basement in Michigan is not a very common thing unless it's a walkout basement where it's being used a living space. Differences in the upstairs compared to the down are going to show up like crazy.

You could probably get away with putting 2" foam on the basement walls to help keep the heat in, but it would probably still show up a bit brighter than your goody goody neighbor.

Best thing I could think of would be to have your space in the middle of the basement and run a long set ducting to cool the air before leaving the tube to avoid letting it heat up the space too much. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Merman]

just wait until they have FLIR without having to use a helicopter...

Done..... I just went with my kids on a tour of our local fire department.... Guy had a handheld FLIR-type camera no bigger than a breadbox... Fire uses it to spot bodies in low visibility (smoke engulfed rooms I suppose). He let me try it out.... pretty amazing really.

Who needs a helicopter when you could scan a whole house from the sidewalk? Seems like Leo would need a warrant... always keep in mind that indoor growing itself is not against the law, only what grows in your garden.

The guys in the article sound like the real deal.... methadone and percocet? That crap ain't the herb... that's trafficking for junkies, and who needs that?

 

[SpacedCWBY]

Yeah, that shit is just asking for trouble. They must have known a lot more about him than the article let on. Sales, deliveries, etc...

 

[rrr78]

I know this topic is old as shit, but from what I understand, they need a warrant to flir your house. Just have a good lawyer. Or, use a Gorilla grow tent (has a special roof to help cut down on heat showing from above) and/Or, use LED/CFL's.

 

[FireIn.TheSky]

never mind old ass thread.

 

[eyes]

from his basement? must of flired a window cause I would run many watts and never worried about the basement area. The smell was always my numero uno concern.