Officers with the Brighton Police Department are crediting one of their newest crime fighters in the recent apprehension of a suspect.

Its name is Thermal Eye X200xp, the department's new thermal imaging camera that can detect heat sources in pitch dark environments. The device, which the Brighton Police Department acquired earlier this summer, helped catch a particularly shadowy burglar Oct. 17 .

Police say a 16-year-old male was caught that night with the help of the $7,500 thermal imaging camera. The suspect, whose name is being withheld by police, had just broken into a home on the 100 block of Pelican Avenue and was seen fleeing the area on foot, said Sgt. Michele Kany.

She and two other officers eventually tracked down the teen, who was riding a bicycle in a field near the intersection of Bridge Street and 50th Avenue. Though his figure was just a source of white light through the lens of the Thermal Eye, officers were able to make an arrest based on a positive identification that was later given by the burglary victim.

"We retrieved several of the items that had been stolen from the residence, and other items that also may be related to other burglaries in the area," Kany said. "Without the use of the system, we may have never been able to see the subject due to the darkness of the field."

It's the first time thermal imaging has been used to make an arrest, said Capt. Al Sharon .

"We're looking forward to using this device in the field a lot," Sharon said.

The camera also is helpful in other areas, such as search and rescue efforts, he said.