Cameras To Keep Eye On Immigration
High-tech infrared surveillance cameras capable of spotting people up to five miles away in darkness or daylight have become a crucial element in the effort to secure the United States’ border with Mexico. The cameras have caused a large decline in the number of illegal border crossings at several border towns in southeastern Arizona.
National Guard soldiers viewing images from the cameras can guide U.S. Border Patrol agents to the locations of illegal immigrants who are crossing the border or hiding in bushes.
With the use of a control stick and the push of a few buttons, the views provided by the cameras are easy to control and change.
High-tech cameras will soon be introduced along a six-mile stretch of the border in the San Diego area. In the town of Douglas, Ariz., more than a dozen surveillance camera towers watch over the town and the surrounding desert from a height of 60 feet.
The cameras have helped produce a significant drop in the number of border apprehensions in the Douglas area–from 262,000 in 2000 to 71,000 in 2005.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Los Angeles Times (06/04/06); Marosi, Richard .
