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How a Density Meter Helps Locate Contraband in Vehicles

How a Density Meter Helps Locate Contraband in Vehicles


Law enforcement and drug interdiction officers use a lot of methods to scan, locate, and seize hidden contraband. While many agents use the conventional methods like dependable K-9 units, we cannot deny that law enforcement is moving along with the fast marches of innovation and new technology, and is also benefiting greatly from them, by using tools like the Buster Density Meter.

So it’s not surprising at all that companies such as Campbell/Harris Security Equipment Company (CSECO) has taken advantage of the new technology to develop more sophisticated contraband detection equipment. Each of the CSECO’s tools can be used alone or in tandem with other equipment or methods.

Two of CSECO’s equipment, the Buster K910G Density Meter and the Perfect Vision V20 Videoscope, are some of the company’s most recommended tools used by law enforcement agency across the United States. They include the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who is, in fact, one of the contributors to the development of the Buster with CSECO’s founder Patrick J. Harris.

The Buster K910G uses a low-intensity gamma radiation emitter and scintillation detector. This sophisticated technology that the Buster uses enables the law enforcement agents and drug interdiction officers to scan different types of items or spaces suspected of carrying hiding contraband, allows for quick inspections, and gives accurate results which yields to the successful seizure of contraband.

The Buster can scan on different types of items which include wood, metal, reinforced plastic, concrete, and even organic matter like dirt and liquids. It also can detect many kinds of contraband from narcotics to cash to explosives. With the Buster, officers are able to determine whether or not a vehicle carries a hidden contraband within five minutes or an average-sized room within 10 minutes. The Buster’s accuracy is almost always spot-on, as its “backscatter radiation” technology helps in detecting the differences in density, especially when scanning a normally hollow object with something hidden inside it.

The Buster also proves to be effective when used with other methods, such as the K9 units. These hardworking police dogs are extensively trained to detect hidden contraband like narcotics, currency, weapons or explosives. If the K9 unit has sniffed something suspicious inside and around the vehicle and is barking at its handlers to alert them, it can mean that the contraband is likely to be hidden in some parts of the vehicle. Law enforcement officers can use the Buster to make sure if what the K9 unit has alerted could be indeed the hidden contraband that they’re looking for.

The Buster K910G has a radioactive source that is now 25% less than other density meters, and its components are all lead-free (unlike its predecessor the K910B). It makes the Buster K910G safe to use by humans, around animals (like the K9 units), and to the surroundings as well.

Although the Buster K910G is capable of detecting almost all kinds of contraband, sometimes law enforcement officers need to actually see into the innermost parts of the vehicle, especially if the Buster cannot access to it. In the past inspectors had to tear down parts of the vehicle such as gas tanks or dashboards, without the certainty that contraband was really stashed inside them. That’s where law enforcement agents need a visual inspection to make a more solid confirmation if there is indeed hidden contraband. While fiberscopes do their jobs inspecting the contents inside of a suspected item or area, they are sometimes uncomfortable to sue, they are not that durable, or they are deemed to be unsafe for inspecting risky areas.

The Perfect Vision V20 Videoscope’s most prominent feature is its 5-inch LCD monitor which allows for easier reading and clearer inspections. The screen comes with a push-button dimming and digital zoom with an image resolution that is 10 times greater than that of the leading fiberscopes. It also has 2-way articulation, a powerful built-in LED lighting, and comes with a rechargeable battery which lasts up to six hours, as well as a slot for the SD card storage which can save up to 8,000 photographs or six hours of video evidence without the need to attach wires.

Since the Perfect Vision V20 Videoscope isn’t made of fiber-optic bundles, it is certainly more durable than most fiberscopes and therefore doesn’t need repairs to the fiber-optic bundles. Do you know the best thing of all? It is certified as safe by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL), which also makes it ideal to use even in hazardous areas. This means that you can insert the shaft of the Perfect Vision V20 into a vehicle’s gas or fuel tank without fear that either the equipment or the car would malfunction, or do you harm.

CSECO’s contraband detection equipment works wonderfully already on their own. Or they can be used with other methods of inspection, or in tandem with other CSECO (or other manufacturer’s) contraband detection tools, to boost the chances of success in finding narcotics and other types of hidden contraband — effectively and safely. When a law enforcement officer or Custom and Border Protection agent uses the CSECO Perfect Vision V20 Videoscope Inspection System or Buster density meter, they know they’ll have a better than average chance to locate hidden contraband that is present.

Tony Harris, President and CEO, and Pat Campbell, founder, of CSECO explain about the Buster density meter and other contraband detectors.

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