Have manufacturers responded to law enforcement’s demand for through-the-wall surveillance tools?

The unit pictured on the left is manufactured by Time Domain Corporation. It is RadarVision, an Ultrawideband, through-the-wall surveillance tool produced in response to the call for Homeland Security technology. It is marketed primarily to law enforcement agencies with the stated capability to track humans through “reinforced concrete, concrete block, sheetrock, brick, wood, plastic, tile, and fiberglass” Time Domain Corporation is the company awarded a Federal contract for business solicitation BAA-99-04-IFKPA -Through the Wall Surveillance.

A noteworthy capability of RadarVision is “real-time intelligence on the direction and distance to the motion contact.” In other words, it can precisely measure distance to a human target through-the-wall. That opens up the possibility of precisely and remotely targeting humans through the walls of their apartments or homes. Please take note, as that capability is relevant to the harassment experienced by victims of through-the-wall directed energy weapons (DEWs).

Were they right?
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) as far back as 1996 provided a warning regarding this class of X-Ray technology that now seems prophetic. “I’m familiar with the millimeter-wave technology and it’s an incredible invasion of privacy,” says Don Haines, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union. “It produces a virtual 3-D image, and you can see the contours of breasts, buttocks and genitals.”

The Point is this . . .
Clearly, evidence is overwhelming that through-the-wall imaging technology is being manufactured by a number of government suppliers. And, that technology is sought and purchased by law enforcement agencies. We have also demonstrated that this x-ray technology has the following capabilities:

• The ability to see through walls, and most common construction materials.
• It can generate detailed through-the-clothing images of individuals in the room or home under surveillance.
• The units can be operated remotely from a nearby home or apartment.
• The units can track movement, and monitor speech, heartbeat, pulse, and other bodily functions remotely.
• The units can provide precise distance measurements for targeting individuals under surveillance with weapons.
• The units are portable, silent, and can be disguised or hidden in a typical residential home or apartment

We ask that you take note of the capability highlighted in red above–the ability to accurately target individuals under surveillance with weapons. The following question must now be answered: What class of through-the-wall weapons and torture devices are being used in concert with remote x-ray technology? That will be discussed in the next installment: Weapons. Return soon, you don’t want to miss it!

Additional Reading:
Millimeter Wave Imaging at Airports

Presentation of through-the-wall technology to the Federal Law Enforcement Wireless User Group July, 11, 2000
Royal Military College of Canada study of Through-the-Wall Surveillance Technologies from American Manufacturers
Time Domain Corp. UWB Through-the-Wall Surveillance Technology Website
Air Force Material Command article on development of Through-the-Wall technology for civilian law enforcement
Radarvision PDF Brochure

“High Tech Cop Tools See Through Walls.”

So read the headline of an article released by United Press International, one of the world’s most respected news agencies, on April 17, 2001. The article discussed portable devices that enable law enforcement officers to “detect a human’s presence through doors and walls up to 8 inches thick.” Funding for the development of this device was provided “in 1998 from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a division of the U.S. Justice Department” according to a Daily University Science News article. In reading both articles you will see that this device, which uses millimeter wave (microwave) x-ray technology, has military origins. Aptly named, the Radar Flashlight can “see” through the walls of homes and apartments. Both referenced articles mention practical uses of these devices, such as protection of police serving search warrants, and SWAT teams in dangerous situations.

The Radar Flashlight, is a portable, seven pound, battery powered device that is intended to cost law enforcement agencies less than $1500 per unit. It is a relatively low-powered device that could be stored in the trunk of a police vehicle for use on an as-needed basis. Please note that this low-powered unit can “penetrate even heavy clothing to detect respiration and movements of as little as a few millimeters.” In other words, it can detect the flutter of an eyelash, the beat of the heart or the slightest pulse, through walls. Keep this in mind, as this capability of Millimeter Wave X-Ray technology is a critical component in campaigns of through-the-wall torture and harassment.

This is not new technology. According to the manufacturer’s news release, it is the miniaturization of a technology patented for military use in the mid-1980’s. It’s original purpose was remotely checking vital signs of soldiers wounded on the battlefield before risking medics’ lives to save the injured.

Logically, one could now ask the question: Are there higher-powered, more sophisticated versions of this technology also available to law enforcement agencies? Yes. In fact, they have been heavily marketed to law enforcement agencies for the past decade.

Have law enforcement agencies sought this technology? Perhaps the following will provide an answer. On June 8, 1999, the United States Air Force Material Command’s Information Directorate stated that “through the wall surveillance” is “the number one technology priority of the state and local law enforcement community.” That quotation is taken from a business solicitation (Reference-Number-BAA-99-04-IFKPA) listed on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Reference-Number-BAA-99-04-IFKPA is a United States Air Force Material Command request for “through the wall surveillance and concealed weapons detection” applications for law enforcement. According to that document, not only is this technology to be purposed for concealed weapons detection, but also for “issues associated with living humans such as movement, heart beat, respiration, sounds, etc. Additional stated requirements for these devices include: (1) are low cost in production; (2) are portable, optimally handheld or as small as possible; (3) provide the ability to detect weapons or survey individuals through walls at a distance.

We see in this evidence two noteworthy trends that shed light on the use of remote (through-the-wall) directed energy weapons on unwitting victims:

• First, is a focus on providing law enforcement agencies technology for remote through-the-wall surveillance of humans that includes monitoring of vital signs such as respiration and heart beat.
• Second, we see the guiding hand the United States military is providing civilian law enforcement. The Wall Street Journal reporting on this trend in it’s March 9, 2004 article entitled “Is The Military Creeping Into Domestic Law Enforcement?”, stated: “In a little-noticed side effect of the war on terrorism, the military is edging toward a sensitive area that has been off-limits to it historically: domestic intelligence gathering and law enforcement.” Interestingly, the evidence above shows this trend clearly underway in 1998, well before the 9/11 terrorist incident. It raises two key questions. What impact does military involvement in domestic law enforcement have on the civil rights of American citizens? How does it influence the mindset of law enforcement agents and officers? (Author’s note: We are not taking sides in the political issues surrounding this trend. It is stated only to give historical context to my story.)

Have manufacturers and weapons contractors answered law enforcement’s call for these devices?

Find out in our next installment . . .

Additional Reading:
NLETC white paper on development and application of Radar Flashlight
Through the wall surveillance technology solicitation by Federal government

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.“ - Galileo Galilei

How do you feel about your right to privacy? Suppose your neighbor possessed technology capable of remotely recording detailed images of you in your home, through your walls, through your clothing? What if that technology could be used indiscriminately, without the control of laws or search warrants?

That is now possible! Surveillance tools are currently being manufactured that have the following characteristics:

• The ability to see through walls, and most common construction materials. The ability to generate detailed through-the-clothing images of individuals in the room or home under surveillance.
• The units can be operated remotely from a nearby home or apartment.
• The units can track movement, and monitor speech, heartbeat, pulse, and other bodily functions remotely.
• The units can provide precise distance measurements for targeting individuals under surveillance with weapons.
• The units are portable, silent, and can be disguised or hidden in a typical residential home or apartment.

Surveillance technology with these capabilities have been commercially available for the past ten years. However, it has only been in the last five years that details regarding it have become widely available. Why? Because the companies who manufactured this technology previously for covert purposes have rushed to remarket it for the lucrative new anti-terrorism / homeland security market that occurred after the 9/11 terrorist attack. However, these surveillance tools have been quietly marketed to law enforcement agencies since their development.

You may already be familiar with this technology, and not be aware of it. When your luggage is inspected at an airport, it may be scanned by security devices that “see” through your belongings to detect the shape of a gun, knife, or other weapon. That device may use Millimeter Wave technology. Millimeter Waves (see box below) are a form of non-ionizing radiation that can be used to create a see-through image not only of luggage, but also of a fully clothed human. In fact, the image it creates, in effect, strips you of all clothing.

Millimeter Wave X-Ray Image of a tractor trailer truck carrying auto parts. Courtesy AS&E

In the November, 2003 issue of National Geographic Magazine, a special series of articles on surveillance entitled “Watching You” commented on the “x-ray” imaging ability of millimeter wave (or backscatter x-ray) devices by stating that “privacy concerns have sent the creators back to the drawing board in search of a way to blur bodily details.” Interestingly, the author coined the phrase “Virtual Strip Search” to describe this technology. The New York Times Magazine of Jan, 4, 2004 in an essay entitled “Naked Terror” had more to say regarding millimeter wave “x-ray” technology. The author, Jeffrey Rosen coined the phrase “Naked Machine” to describe these devices. He writes: “A kind of electronic strip search, the Naked Machine bounces a low-energy X-ray beam off the human body. In addition to exposing any metal, ceramic or plastic objects that are concealed by clothing, the Naked Machine also produces an anatomically correct naked image of everyone it scrutinizes.”

The ability of this technology to render highly detailed through-the-clothing images of the body is also commented on by a leading developer of the technology, Pacific Northwest Laboratories (PNL), a division of the United States Department of Energy. “With the system’s success came questions about its potential to display the unclothed physical features of a person being scanned to the operator running the machine. Since 1997, PNL scientists have been addressing this potential privacy issue by reprogramming the system to give the operator a view of only concealed items, and not the person’s image.” - Department of Research Energy News. Clearly, Millimeter Wave Imaging (see article What Are Millimeter Waves) provides highly detailed, through-the-clothing images that can be useful in covert, remote surveillance. However, can this technology be used to see through the walls of homes and apartments? If so, is there any evidence to show that it is being used for that purpose by law enforcement agencies? And, more importantly, what weapons are used in conjunction with these surveillance tools? We will consider that in our next installment.

Additional Reading:
Application of Millimeter Wave Imaging to Post 9/11 security uses
Wired Magazine article: “There’s No Place To Hide”
Air Force Research Laboratory Request for Quote on Through-the-Wall Technology for use by law enforcement officers.
Transportation Security Administration Article on Use of Millimeter Wave Technology in Airport Security