Drug-detecting laser gun being tested by Bay Area law enforcement agencies
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - A laser gun that can identify illegal drugs up to six feet away in seconds is being called a "game changer" when it comes to keeping officers safe and fighting the opioid crisis.
The Pendar X10 and other similar pieces of technology are being tested in Pinellas County.
Kirk Grates, a research project manager for forensic chemistry at FIU’s Largo campus, helps train officers in the Pendar X10, and those other similar pieces of technology that all work to identify illicit drugs.
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"It actually provides the officers with the capability of identifying about 7,400 different chemical compounds, using that device at a standoff distance, anywhere from a foot to six and a half feet away," Grates said about the Pendar X10.
Grates and others at FIU helped develop the pilot program with police agencies across the country. The program is funded by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. It also introduces officers to proper methods to collect, document and store evidence.
"It trains them on awareness, as well as conducting field testing using multiple different available technologies," Grates said.
The training, launched in the past month, is online and agencies can sign up for FIU’s loaner equipment program to test out the technology for up to six months.
"It gives us a way to scan items looking for thousands of chemicals without physically touching it," said Captain Chad Cave with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. "The laser can scan through the bag to identify these chemicals, and then it also helps us identify these substances as quickly as possible to get them and the individuals selling them off the street to help prevent any kind of overdoses or deaths from them."
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is one of the first agencies to use the technology.
"Fentanyl is extremely dangerous, and it becomes more and more dangerous because it's more prevalent and because it's mixed with other substances. So, the more quickly we can identify it, then the more lives we can save in our community," Captain Cave said.
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The Pendar X10 uses laser technology, emitting wavelengths, to determine what’s in the chemical compound it scans.
"It emits two different wavelengths … and bombards the sample," Grates said. "There's interaction between the atoms and bonds that make up those chemical compound or compounds, depending on how many are there. They actually emit different wavelengths back to the device, which creates a unique fingerprint for the chemical or chemicals that are present, and that's known as a spectrum, and that spectrum is then compared to a library of many spectra, and that's how it's actually identified."
Grates said the technology is faster, reduces exposure risks and gives officers more information than current methods.
"They can not only use it for officer safety, but they can use it for intelligence. So, in other words, let's say they're seeing a certain sample in their region that contains fentanyl, methamphetamine and specific cutting agents. They can start looking to find out maybe there's a certain drug dealer that’s selling these drugs and relating deaths to that drug dealer," Grates said.
According to Grates, due to the technology’s speed, it can provide officers with probable cause and strong investigative leads.
"It's going to really give officers safety in the field," Grates said. "That's the most important, but potentially if they work with their local laboratories that they submit their evidence to, this could actually reduce case backlog."
The device also saves information about its previous scans that officers can export as a PDF.
Grates said several agencies have already reached out about the program. The online training is free for any first responder agency. They can sign up by clicking here.
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