New NYPD Infrared Gun Scanner to Find Concealed Weapons

The New York Police Department is teaming up with the Pentagon to create an infrared gun scanner to detect weapons and suicide bomber vests through clothing.

Technology is once again working its way forward. NYPD and the Department of Defense are working together to create an infrared scanner called Terahertz Image Detection to detect concealed weapons, which is much faster and easier than a traditional pat-down that police have been previously using to find hidden weapons, and much safer as well.

Infrared technology is already used in airports to detect objects underneath passenger clothing. 

How does infrared technology work?

The scanners will use terahertz wave technology that measures terahertz radiation (also called t-waves), in what is called terahertz spectroscopy. If the scanner is obstructed by an object, the scanner can show the shape of the object. As of right now, the infrared scanners can only reach about 13 feet, but police are working to create a scanner that can reach up to 80 feet.

Infrared Scanners are Controversial

The use of an infrared scanner is controversial and upsets many people with their death grip on their privacy rights. However, “New York City should see its stop-and-frisk rate drop by a half-million people a year," says NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman.

Critics feel that the scanners would be a violation to people on the streets carrying legally licensed weapons for protection. Robert Farago, of the The Truth About Guns, says it’s New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg  that’s pushing the “anti-gun jihad”. “The sooner Mayor Bloomberg is ousted from power, the sooner New York City residents begin to exercise their Constitutional right to armed self-defense without Big Brother looking over their shoulder, the safer everyone will be.”

Others fear for the police and FBI that are working undercover in crime-prone parts of New York, if police see them with their concealed guns, they could possibly lose their cover and blow their operation.

The NYPD hopes to install the heat-seeking devices on police vehicles in the near future, as soon as the devices meet all requirements.