New developments in night-vision equipment and techniques

The continued loss of lucrative military contracts has caused western manufacturers of night-vision components and systems to review their marketing strategy. But the product range remains essentially unaltered and, as the equipment was originally designed for a military role, it can be unsuited to police use. The paper outlines the present state of low-light surveillance imaging and notes that although development work on image-intensifiers still continues, this work is likely to contract with the reduction in military sponsorship. It reports the use of Russian night-vision equipment by the criminal, the effect of this on police operations, and proposes a way forward for future research and development.