LEO Article on Thermal Imaging

[G33k Speak]

"The Oakland County Sheriff's Department released video footage of a helicopter flyover of a home in Hamburg Township. Authorities said they discovered a marijuana grow operation in the home.

The video shows the helicopter's infared zeroing in on vents in the home."

http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/video_police_release_tape_of_f.html

verrrrry interesting.

The house isn't exactly glowing... the pilots can't even find the right house in the beginning.

All the find in one hot vent.

I can't believe that there wouldn't be an innocent explanation... clothes dryers, bathroom vent from a hot shower etc...BUT, they seem to have used this TINY scrap of info for a bust.

I'd like to see the whole video too.

I wonder what size the grow was???

AND they were searching for that specific house- so there was already a security breach prior to the FLIR search.

I'd like to see cases where the FLIR was wrong, and they broke in on a guy raising tropical fish in his garage, or something like that.

Great job on the find!

 

[G33k Speak]

hey man, it seams like none of us are trying to hurt anyone, just our way of getting by isnt so accepted, it seams only prudent to gather, collect, and share data on them they do it to US

i happen to have an attic im using to dump heat into... im thinking that having 'attic fans' (heavy duity temp controlled fan on the vent port) will cool the attic down. not taking the ducting to the roof is also a decent idea, the heat spreads...

im guessing that house's vent wasnt a vent,

but rather the location the exhaust hit the roof on the inside[of the attic].

also i have an idea about running an 8" inside a 10" (or a 10" inside a 12")to allow for heat disapation of the exhaust heat, in the attic, before it reaches the exhaust hole/vent/side/wall. if the whole attic is more consistant in temp there wont be any 'white glowing dots'.

im really worried about how they suspected it was a grow-op. arnt people allowed to use the oven? maybe it was the water-heater exhaust. dryer vent? ...... im sure someone was tiped on where to look.

DH

I believe that FLIR is judging the heat, RELATIVE to the surrounding area... so if you heat the attic, the entire roof would appear white, and not just the vent pipe. That assumes that you give off enough heat into the attic to rais the attic's temp.

 

[G33k Speak]

to answer some of my own Q's;
"The Hamells' home was raided by police May 2, after an informant tipped authorities off to a potential marijuana growing operation there. Police said they discovered 30 pounds of marijuana, more than 40 pot plants and guns."

"Oakland County Sheriff's officers, Hamburg Township police and an undercover narcotics task force raided Hamell's home May 2. They discovered 30 pounds of packaged marijuana, 44 marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia, 400 pounds of potting soil, six marijuana grow lights and six guns, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Department. Police also seized $28,179 in cash at a Brighton bank and froze another $28,414 in a savings account.
Reporter Tom Gantert can be reached at 734-994-6701 or [email protected].


Authorities say an informant tipped them off to the grow operation. A police helicopter flew over Hamell's home and used infrared technology to find excessive heat sources, typical of homes using grow lights.


Oakland County Sheriff's officials said the raid was part of a one-month investigation that started when someone reported that people in the house were growing marijuana inside and selling it."


But here's more info on the evil devil weed cropper:

"Dawn Hamell led a double life, authorities say.

At work, she was a well-liked clerk for the Ann Arbor Police Department. She provided meals for the homebound twice a week, won an award last year for going above and beyond the call of duty, brought back gifts for her co-workers when she went on trips, and volunteered to bring in food for holiday potlucks."

"Amy Cervantes, the police records supervisor, said Hamell had a great attitude about her job. Hamell coordinated the annual city of Ann Arbor employee bowling event.
"She would take on everything," Cervantes said.

Cervantes said she has two cats and a parrot, and after a couple trips Hamell took, she brought Cervantes a pen with a bird on it and a wooden cat trinket.

"We all got (gift) animals we love," Cervantes said.

Deputy Chief Greg Bazick said Hamell's kindness was genuine.

"It wasn't like you felt it was someone just trying to get on your good side," Bazick said. "She is a very caring, compassionate person."

Real threat - huh???? good god, she prolly taught free yoga to senior citizens too. I hope the assholes are real proud of themselves...

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

to answer some of my own Q's;
"The Hamells' home was raided by police May 2, after an informant tipped authorities off to a potential marijuana growing operation there. Police said they discovered 30 pounds of marijuana, more than 40 pot plants and guns."

"Oakland County Sheriff's officers, Hamburg Township police and an undercover narcotics task force raided Hamell's home May 2. They discovered 30 pounds of packaged marijuana, 44 marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia, 400 pounds of potting soil, six marijuana grow lights and six guns, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Department. Police also seized $28,179 in cash at a Brighton bank and froze another $28,414 in a savings account.
Reporter Tom Gantert can be reached at 734-994-6701 or [email protected].


Authorities say an informant tipped them off to the grow operation. A police helicopter flew over Hamell's home and used infrared technology to find excessive heat sources, typical of homes using grow lights.


Oakland County Sheriff's officials said the raid was part of a one-month investigation that started when someone reported that people in the house were growing marijuana inside and selling it."


But here's more info on the evil devil weed cropper:

"Dawn Hamell led a double life, authorities say.

At work, she was a well-liked clerk for the Ann Arbor Police Department. She provided meals for the homebound twice a week, won an award last year for going above and beyond the call of duty, brought back gifts for her co-workers when she went on trips, and volunteered to bring in food for holiday potlucks."

"Amy Cervantes, the police records supervisor, said Hamell had a great attitude about her job. Hamell coordinated the annual city of Ann Arbor employee bowling event.
"She would take on everything," Cervantes said.

Cervantes said she has two cats and a parrot, and after a couple trips Hamell took, she brought Cervantes a pen with a bird on it and a wooden cat trinket.

"We all got (gift) animals we love," Cervantes said.

Deputy Chief Greg Bazick said Hamell's kindness was genuine.

"It wasn't like you felt it was someone just trying to get on your good side," Bazick said. "She is a very caring, compassionate person."

Real threat - huh???? good god, she prolly taught free yoga to senior citizens too. I hope the assholes are real proud of themselves...

im with you on that last part.
typical cops. worthless. only thing there protecting is there job, and only serving themselves. what a self-serving-crooked-ass-sytem.

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

I've moved past this. It's a non-issue.
IR detects surface temperatures.
I run rooms insides rooms. Therefore, I do not affect the surface temperature of my home. That is that.

Still, no one be stupid and fill an attic with 5K in the winter.

Also, LEO in the USA use it where they can. PERIOD. And they are a bunch of assholes. LOL.

 

[G33k Speak]

What if it was a vent for an upsatirs laundry room???

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

You mean what if you were venting your exhaust from your dryer into your attic?

Well, that wouldn't be normal as dryer vents are always run outdoors so as to not pump hot, humid, air into your living space.

 

[G33k Speak]

You mean what if you were venting your exhaust from your dryer into your attic?

Well, that wouldn't be normal as dryer vents are always run outdoors so as to not pump hot, humid, air into your living space.

well duh!!

I meant what if it was a 'normal' roof vent for a dryer.. would it look different to FLIR??

Or what if no one was home next door- and THAT's why the house looked different to the helo pilot??

Maybe the atty can have the air search thrown out.... it sounded A LOT like they were trying to find ANYTHING that MIGHT be able to 'prove' the probable cause....

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

Here's another story about Minnesota police using FLIR: http://www.mankatofreepress.com/local/local_story_197004015.html?keyword=topstory

I've recently heard a story that UK helicopters, using FLIR, are reporting suspected grow-ops that they see while flying around on 'routine patrols'. Apparently, the police have already confronted a home which was not a grow-op, but the house was built shoddy, and had poor insulation.

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

National Guard: drug-fighting agency​

Monday, September 8, 2008, 10:01 PM
By Bob Priddy

Some criminals never know--until they see the charges against them--that law enforcement agencies have had important allies in making a case.

Law enforcement officers in southeast Missouri recently found a big indoor marijuana growing operation concealed behind a wall in a house. They located it because a National Guard helicopter hundreds of feet in the air used a heat-seeking device to locate the grow lamps being used in the secret room.

The National Guard has been working with local and federal agencies on criminal cases for more than 15 years.

Lieutenant Colonel Greg Mason with the Guard's counter-drug program says military technology has civilian uses. He says part of that technology is the same thing the soldiers would use if they're activated and sent to international hot spots.

It can be dangerous. On rare occasions somebody has taken a shot at a Guard chopper. Mason says the soldiers are not armed, so they don't fire back.

The Guard also offers a criminal intelligence section to help law enforcement analyze evidence. He says using those skills here can pay off in analyzing information in international hot spots.

http://www.missourinet.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=4448440F-BA5B-E115-3AE4CA5ACF83D229​

 

[ninfan77]

Until they see the charges against them...

Ok, i thought FLIR wasn't allowed/admissable without a warrant? The NG is just flying around looking at houses?

 

[blackone]

Or perhaps it's all just a piece of bullshit to protect informers?
They get the names and addresses they want - go there with the FLIR and Voila! Noone has to know that the original source was anything else than a "routine" FLIR flight...

 

[~fvk~]

You know, it could be a number of things, but I wouldn't put it past them to do random fly overs. Ha, especially in the exclusive piece of shit known as Missouri.

Just expect mandatory flyovers to find those who fund terrorists through indoor growing of cannabis in the next 10 years or so. They're already being blatant about violating our rights as it is anyways...

 

[blackone]

Growrooms need to be pretty big for FLIR to pick up anything, especially in a random fly over. They can't see through walls But they can see the walls heating up, and they can also see quite easily where heat escapes the building, if it's in an unusual place or amount.
Forget about anti-IR foil - it won't do any good at all unless you're using it to block a window. It's the hot air heating up the walls and exit locations you need to worry about.

 

[SomeGuy]

Update on the Ann Arbor case

Update on the Ann Arbor case

Detroit News

Police records clerk sentenced for growing pot in Putnam Township home
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News

HOWELL -- A former civilian records clerk for the Ann Arbor Police Department was sentenced today in Livingston Circuit Court to three years probation for having a marijuana-growing operation in her home.

Dawn Marie Hamell, 47, of Putnam Township, pleaded guilty to one count of delivery or manufacturing 5-45 kilograms of marijuana or about 12.5 pounds to 99 pounds. A second count was dropped in the plea deal with prosecutors. She faced seven years in prison.

Her husband, William Russell Hamell, 59, was sentenced in October to three years probation and ordered to wear an electronic tether for 90 days after he pleaded guilty to both charges.

Her attorney David Goldstein said Dawn Hamell assisted her husband in the growing operation "for their own personal use and were not selling it for profit. Some (marijuana) was given to people to relieve their suffering."

An informant tipped off police to the growing operation in their Wynns Road home and a heat-detecting helicopter from the Oakland County Sheriff's Department found a heat signature compatible with a growing operation.

Oakland County sheriff's officers, Hamburg Township police and undercover narcotics officers raided the couple's home in May seizing 44 plants about 30 pounds of packaged marijuana. The street value was about $200,000.

Police said the Hamells were experts at indoor cultivation with 44 marijuana plants, 400 pounds of potting soil and growing-operation equipment, such as lights, transformers, fans and timers.

Police also seized $28,170 in cash and are attempting to seize the Hammels home, worth about $300,000 under drug forfeiture laws.

"I would like to apologize for my behavior," Hamell told Judge Stanley Latreille.

She said she has not used alcohol or marijuana for the past six months and is trying to make a positive change in her life. The room where the marijuana was being grown has been renovated into a bedroom, she said.

Hamell said she was fired from the job she held at the Ann Arbor Police Department since 1991.

 

[DEATH BY SNUSNU]

Why do you think that cops would need to sit around and read.....

To make rank and pay. If not the pigs then maybe some highly methed out intelligent but methed out m.f. wants to hunt you down because you jibbajabbered just enough to give yourself up.

Ace astoundingly went above and beyond what is expected from humans.....on the internet no less to illuminate your thought process.
Ace I would of gave up a long time ago. I mean this person is probably using his real name in his login lol. This tread was entertaining on multiple levels.

ANYTHING you say or post can be used against you in a court of law.
Now getting back to flir. what does this mean in states with legal recreational plant counts. They cant tell if you are doing 6 200 gallon containers or 600 2 gals. Especially if you are on 1 hid or leds. Also the bigger your "6" plant canopy is the more light youll need ie multipe leds vs 1-2k hid on a mover. Its still cool enough to blast a 2k er and not need to vent, which if I understand this right its the venting that lights one up?
Assuming it is the feds taking a look at you would they even budge with what looks like a 2 lighter when we know what goes down around town? I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that now the states with rec are *ucking with 1kw grows.

 

[DEATH BY SNUSNU]

...after years of the prop 215 wild wild west.

 

[St. Phatty]

Seems like tourist type airplane flights are about $200.

I think it's well worth the cost, if you have a private grow, to scope it yourself from the air. The FLIR might be more expensive ... I bet Amazon sells them.

It's not an impossible task to deal with. A private grow space like that can have a double-roof, i.e. 2 layers of metal with ambient temperature air blowing in between them.

Using a little grow building HVAC, and giving some thought to where warm air is exhausted (e.g., grow space under a house), you can make your private grow look like every other house on the block or road, from the air.

For sure, the first time your private grow space gets FLIR'ed, it works WAAAY better if you're the one doing the FLIR'ing, and not an unwelcome outsider.

 

[Drunken Buddha]

Wise choice to check it out yourself, It's a small cost to buy a FLIR vs pay for an attorney.