SURVENT

In June 2006 it was announced that Governor Rick Perry would have the borders of Texas be patroled, in part, by civilians via webcams. I posted on this when it was announced, but this article I just came across got me thinking about it again. What ever happened to that plan? Did it ever get implemented? And if so, has it been successful?

The test site for the video feeds is now closed. There is a brief message on the site with statistics as to how many people viewed the feeds, etc. There is no information that suggests how many of the 13,000 e-mails they received about the feeds were alerts of suspicious activity or if anyone was apprehended based on these alerts. Have American taxpayers paid for another project that was a waste of our tax dollars. Hopefully the cameras are still being used with some success by the Border Patrol and Homeland Security so they are not a total waste.

I did just notice an article on MySanAntonio.com that does report some statistics about the success these cameras had, though it was minimal.

Still, there were no blockbuster busts during the brief trial. A stolen car was recovered, and 12 undocumented immigrants were detained on separate occasions at different places along the border

In the biggest case, 432 pounds of marijuana was seized in a pickup after a high-speed chase into Del Rio. The incident began around 3 a.m. Nov. 28 after a woman watching a camera posted along U.S. 277 in rural Val Verde County saw the truck and someone signaling it.

She reported it by e-mail, and the chase ensued after U.S. Border Patrol agents confronted the driver. The sheriff's office said the driver escaped on foot.