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ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES EQUIPMENT GRANT
FROM DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

            ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP (10/20/09) – The Aberdeen Township Police Department was awarded an equipment grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP).

Through the grant, the department received a Mini Thermal Monocular (MTM), a thermal imaging camera that allows officers to detect heat emitting objects that would not otherwise be visible to the officer. The camera will be placed in service once department personnel have been trained in its use.

“The MTM will be an invaluable tool in the detection, recognition and identification of potential suspects or victims, and will also provide increased officer safety through better situational awareness,” explained Deputy Chief Rick Derechailo, who recently attended a two-day training session conducted by the Law Enforcement Thermographers Association to become a certified Law Enforcement Thermographer. “Contrary to popular belief, the MTM is not capable of ‘seeing through’ walls or buildings. Rather, the device operates by detecting heat that is emitted from the surface of objects.”

CEDAP, administered by Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is an equipment grant program to enhance regional response capabilities, mutual aid, and interoperable communications by providing technology and equipment, along with training to operate that equipment, to law enforcement and emergency responder agencies in smaller jurisdictions and certain metropolitan areas. FEMA provides the equipment and technical assistance directly to the selected jurisdictions. Applicants select one item from the menu of available equipment choices.

The MTM is the latest law enforcement technology put in place by the Aberdeen Police Department. In 2008, the department added Info-Cop, wireless-based law enforcement information software that provides officers in the field with direct access to local, state and federal crime databases. Also adopted during 2008 was LiveScan, an automated fingerprint system that allows officers to fingerprint offenders electronically, and transmit the impressions via computer directly to the NJ State Police for review.