In first year, Texas’ $2 million Webcam border watch nets just 11 arrests

rawstory.com...

The state of Texas spent $2 million in federal grant money to install 14 Webcams along its border with Mexico. After its first year, the crowd-sourced surveillance program is out of money and has only yielded 11 arrests, according to published reports.

Texas’ “BlueServo,” dubbed a “virtual stake-out,” was supposed to be revolutionary. Why hire border guards when the eyes of the Internet could be harnessed to prevent unauthorized border crossings?

Texas officials predicted that their planned 200 cameras would lead to the capture of at least 4,500 border-jumpers and roughly 1,200 drug-related arrests.

Results, however, fell far short of the program’s goals, according to the Associated Press. The cameras have deterred about 300 attempting to cross illegally, the state said. Of the 11 arrests made, just three came within the program’s first six months.

While some 125,000 individuals registered to become “virtual Texas deputies,” many appeared to do so out of mere curiosity. And though numerous comments were left by the site’s users, they rarely pointed out illegal activity.

My tax dollars at work. As I am still a property owner in Texas. I wonder what kind of kick backs were delivered to the politicos that approved this boondoggle.

Something needs to be done about the illegal alien problem but perhaps a high tech solution to a low tech problem would best be addressed by more border guards.
I predicted this stupid approach would only make some security co. a lot of money and do precious little to stem the influx of illegals. Perhaps if some of the money would have been used to prosecute those that afford jobs to illegals; could have been a better solution.

Simple mistake in planning? No, corruption!!

learn to live with humans.

I would have fallen for this proposition, it would have honestly sounded like something that could work to me. While I would be strongly against this sort of thing being used in a populated area, in this context it at least sounds viable. It also sounds like a project that could be achieved for considerably less than millions of dollars.

Hope you get more intelligent responses than "learn to live with.." type crap, give me a break.

Originally posted by maus80

Hope you get more intelligent responses than "learn to live with.." type crap, give me a break.

I know, but I am learning to live with it. No other alternative with corruption/greed on one hand and incompetent yahoos on the other.

I personally watch the videos on the website on my second monitor next to my tv in my living room for about 3 hours a night...I cascade the windows so i can have 6 cameras open at once I have reported 2 suspicious individuals in the past year. I have many personal opinions on this matter. Number one is that instead of the money used to pay all the border guards and cameras we should build a 20 foot high wall and put an electric fence on top as a deterrent kind of like a mix between the Berlin wall and a cattle fence (not that humane). Second is that we can set motion sensor automatic weapons much like the recent"ish" movie about a plague in the U.K. with that hot girl with the detachable eye, I can't remember the name but its an idea (inhumane). The third is that we can annex Mexico and make it part of the United States and open the border, after all there are already such an amazingly large number of them here why not just let them in because they are coming here regardless (humane and can be economical if done the right way). The third is my favorite but it really doesn't make sense to have a country such as ours that is completely unprotected on both borders with Canada and Mexico. It is impossible to get here from the ocean because of the coast guard but anyone can walk into the U.S. with no problem at all!!!

MAKES NO SENSE!!!

LifENcircleS