Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Texas border web camera #3: "watch for subjects on foot carrying large bags"
It was one of the most heavily trafficked sites on the Internet over the past year, with nearly 40 million visitors. But the million-dollar plan to use webcams and “virtual deputies” to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border has proved to be a bust.
When Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas allocated $2 million to the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition to launch the project, it was expected 200 cameras would line the border (one for every six miles), and that the program would produce 1,200 arrests in its first year. Instead, only 17 cameras became operational, and just 11 people were arrested—even though nearly 125,000 visitors to BlueServo signed up to become “virtual deputies” and help monitor webcam footage.
The program has now run out of money, and some Democratic lawmakers are using the debacle to take shots at the Republican governor. “Instead of making Texas safer, it has made Texas the source of international ridicule,” said Democratic state Senator Eliot Shapleigh.
Perry hasn’t given up on the project, and is seeking another $2 million to keep it going. After his staff produced a report that revealed the program’s shortcomings, Perry had them rewrite it to give BlueServo shinier results. The second draft claimed the sheriff’s coalition was expected to install only 15 cameras during the first year, and that the arrest goal was just 25 in year one.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Virtual Border System Ineffective, Out of Cash (by Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times)
BlueServo (Texas Border Watch)
Border Surveillance Webcams Fail (AllGov)
Comments