Posted on 06/24/2003 8:58:40 AM PDT by JackelopeBreeder
American Border Patrol is seeding a Huachuca Mountain canyon with ground sensors in final preparation for its first operational testing of a tracking system that will also use GPS-guided unmanned drones.
In the testing, the private border-watch group will try to detect, document and then broadcast live images of the flow of illegal border crossers trekking across a sparsely populated canyon south of Sierra Vista. The area has become a major footpath for illegal border crossers.
American Border Patrol founder Glenn Spencer said the location was selected after area residents approached his group seeking help in curbing the ongoing flow of illegal entrants crossing through their properties. Spencer said he intends to demonstrate that the use of relatively low-cost technology to detect and intercept illegal entrants is possible, while providing some immediate relief to frustrated property owners.
From their home in the Huachuca Mountains, Ken Allison and his wife have watched large groups of illegal immigrants pour over their property as they descend from the mountain footpaths they use to avoid the U.S. Border Patrol and link up with smuggler's vehicles on nearby Arizona 92.
Allison said that after years of frustration with the U.S. Border Patrol's response, Spencer's plan "offers a hope that something can be changed."
"If they do succeed, it will probably make things better for us," he said. "But the more important thing is that the information they gather be used."
The camera-equipped, pilotless aircraft program resulted in international attention for Spencer's group when testing began last April.
But Spencer said the heart of the detection system is ground sensors equipped with a specially modified seismic microphone capable of detecting a human footstep.
As of Monday, American Border Patrol had installed more than a half-dozen sensors. The group expects to have at least 25 in the ground by the end of the week and 50 within a month along trails popular with illegal entrants cutting through private property between the Huachuca Mountains' southeastern slope and the San Pedro River.
By year's end, Spencer said up to 500 sensors could be in place throughout Southern Arizona and as many as five of the group's drones, called Border Hawk aircraft, could be in operation.
The information the sensors provide will be relayed to the U.S. Border Patrol so agents can be dispatched to intercept individuals or groups. Spencer's group plans to monitor, and publicize, the agency's response.
The group's drones, remote-controlled planes about 5 feet long, would be dispatched to the triggered sensor, going into a pre-programmed search pattern. The aircraft can stay airborne for up to 90 minutes and have an operating radius of about 15 miles. They cost between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on their equipment, Spencer said.
Frank Amarillas, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol, said the agency does not respond to statements or activities of groups like Spencer's.
In general, Amarillas said, "the Border Patrol appreciates the efforts of nongovernmental organizations and members of the general public, however discourages private parties from taking matters into their own hands."
For people wanting to help someone in distress, the best course of action is to contact the appropriate law enforcement authority and "refrain from providing transportation or other assistance . . . that may be viewed as furtherance of illegal entry." That, he said, could result in prosecution.
I'm waiting for FR to become a government itself.
-archy-/-
Some of them aren't. Some are.
I wish we could say that most are not only not the problem, but the largest part of the solution, as it once was. They were once the most prestigious uniformed federal law enforcement agency going, and it'd be nice to see them deservedly earn that respect again.
But that's outside of their capability so long as their hands are tied by their political masters, making them a politically correct lapdog for Mexican governmental interests and well-connected drug pushers working both sides of the border.
-archy-/-
Too many of them, and those in supervisory positions appear to not only keep the incompetent ones in place but advance their careers for political reasons. But those doing the job on a day-to-day basis are the real experts on what's going on, and are often going outside the rulebook at the risk of their own professional careers to try and do something to slow the flood.
Of course, the 10 million illegal entrants already within our borders now have sufficient numbers to do great damage without additional treinforcements. That little detail needs to be attended to as well.
-archy-/-
So, post some of the facts. Should be easy for you.
oh, i get it!
No, I don't think you do.
If you have proof of this so-called incompetence, then post it.
You've spoken of your management's incompetence often...make up your mind.
My mind is made up.
Unfortunately, this liberal can't provide facts to his accusations.
His claim is that everyone in BP is incompetent, and all check points are ineffective, I've proven him wrong already and am giving him another shot.
I doubt he'll take it.
I will.
Will do. Have good evening.
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