Pubdate: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 Source: Chilliwack Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Chilliwack Times Contact: http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1357 Author: Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times TURNING UP THE HEAT ON BAD TENANTS Infrared Camera Can Be Used by Landlords to Detect the Presence of A Marijuana Grow Op A local security company is offering a new weapon in the ongoing battle between marijuana grow operators and Chilliwack landlords. Griffin Investigation & Security Services says it has acquired a new infrared camera can both detect grow ops and prevent them from taking over, and destroying homes, in the first place. Griffin's chairman and chief executive officer Brain Goldstone said landlords can hire his company to perform monthly heat checks of their homes. The camera takes an image of a structure's "heat signature." Grow operations typically require vast amounts of heat and energy and, Goldstone says, are easy to spot using the camera. "The house will actually glow," said Goldstone, a former RCMP officer. The camera itself is not enough to prove the existence of a grow operation. For that, an inspection is required. Once an anomalous heat pattern is detected, Goldstone says his company will alert the homeowner, who can either do an inspection him or herself, or hire Griffin to complete that task. Landlords must give tenants notice before an inspection and Goldstone believes that such notice should drive off any grow operators who may have set up shop. But that, he said, is a victory. He said the camera can also serve as a deterrent. Clients will be given letters--which they can in turn hand potential renters--stating that homes will be subject to monthly heat inspections. "If you're planning on renting this property to put a grow op in it and you know someone's going to be coming by this property, you'll go somewhere else," he said. As for privacy concerns, Goldstone said the camera--which mounts on top of a vehicle and costs $14,000--is not powerful enough to see into homes. "It won't penetrate glass or look through windows, and we don't want it to," he said. The scans, which can often be done from the road, only register heat given off by the walls of the home, said Goldstone. Hiring Griffin doesn't come without a cost--about $900 per year per home--but Goldstone believes there will be sufficient demand from landlords worried about the cost of cleaning up after grow operations and paying the accompanying fines. The camera won't only be used to try and detect grow operations. Griffin is contracted to provide security for the City of Chilliwack and he said the company used it Thursday night to scan local parks after dark for trespassers. It also will be available, he said, for search and rescue operations in instances where a mobile unit is required. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.