Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
- Mark Twain
It is said that more than 80 percent of violence toward police officers happens in low light conditions. As far back as the caveman era, I believe we have had a fear of the dark. I am convinced that is why fire was discovered; to add some comfort and scare away the shadows and fear that comes from the unknown.
Predators favor the dark and the shadows. As police officers, we need to consistently go into the darkness and the unknown to stop criminals. Our first instinct is to turn our bright, powerful lights on. Let’s take a step back.
We need to keep in mind that we can use the dark to our advantage. With technology, good tactics, and a little out of the box thinking, we can use darkness to help us stop criminals. When it comes to owning the night, we need to understand how light can work with us and against us. Let's explore walls of light as an example.
Try to picture bright lights facing you in the direction you are trying to observe. Those lights can blind you or not allow the eye to see past the halo or "wall" they are creating. If we try to use night vision to break through the wall, we quickly learn that "blooming" is going to occur and render the technology as a disadvantage.
In this situation a Thermal Imager (TI) is an excellent choice to defeat these walls of light since they are not affected by the visible light spectrum. So if the target we are observing is located behind a bright set of building lights, then a TI is going to penetrate that wall and give us eyes on the subject. Even if our subject is in bad weather conditions, such as being swallowed up in fog and light, the TI can still give us images that we can work with. Keep this in mind as we progress forward.
We all know as cops, once we turn our spotlight on a suspect they are either going to know we are on to them or run. Anytime we turn our lights on, we might as well yell SHOWTIME! So, when you have time on your side, I'm urging you to wait in the shadows and view the target with your TI before making an approach or taking action. Think about the next drug sales call you get. Being able to view the bad guy's pre-contact actions may help you locate his stash of drugs, cash or weapons.
My intention with this article is to get you thinking about walls of light and how darkness can affect your safety. My next article will discuss further tactics to use in the dark to deceive.
STAY SAFE!
