Imagine being the supervisor of a correctional facility and spending a year saving for a pair of night vision goggles, which could be crucial in an emergency for the safety of inmates and officers alike. Finally, after saving up $4,000, the goggles are purchased and officers begin to use them, until they break unexpectedly – and cost another $1,500 to fix.

This scenario is a frustrating one for cash-strapped corrections agencies. But a new government-funded program may help.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center recently started a program aimed at helping law enforcement and corrections agencies that cannot afford top-of-the-line technologies. The Night Vision Device (NVD) Program allows correctional officers and facilities the option to lease NVDs, or borrow them, without cutting budgets in half.

The NVD program offers second-generation night vision goggles at a discount price. New goggles retail for $4,000, while the NVD program offers goggles for $200 a year – an almost $3,800 in savings for law enforcement and corrections agencies.

And the NVD program does much more.

When night vision goggles break, repairs can cost corrections agencies upwards of $1,500. But the NVD program replaces the night vision goggles as soon as they are broken – cutting downtime – and repairs them for free.

The NVD program is dedicated to helping law enforcement agencies that cannot afford brand new NVD equipment. The NVD program also makes the best of its resources – any pair of goggles that cannot be fully repaired is savaged for parts and used to rebuild other sets of NVDs.

According to Ken Dover, a retired officer that spent years working with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, says the program does more good than many people realize.

“Most of the Center's efforts are focused on the military right now due to the conflict in Iraq,” Dover said, “But this program also offers lots of options for law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities that need technology like this to operate on a daily basis.”

The Center was created as an agency that would prepare, load, renovate, store and issue ammunition for the Navy – but they have expanded their practice to serve law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities. While many have recognized the Center's achievements in the Naval field, they have also created a number of programs targeted exclusively at law enforcement and correctional facilities.

Dover adds that law enforcement and corrections, no matter what their budget, should have access to technologies like night vision because it helps to keep communities safer in the long run.

“This isn't a pity program – we just want law enforcement to be able to afford the equipment they need to do their jobs.”

Dover says that there are many reasons that agencies and facilities will benefit from the NVD program.

 “Facilities need these technologies - but don't always have the budget to keep up with constantly changing times,” Dover said. “It's hard to keep up with the newest advancements all the time. And it's just as hard to maintain your technologies, price-wise, when they break.”

Although the center is currently overwhelmed with orders, it is still addressing the needs of each facility as quickly as it can.

For More Information:

http://www.nlectc.org/equipment/cranenightvision.html