BarkleUSA
04-18-2008, 05:06 PM
Source (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D904F6200&show_article=1)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - At least a couple of times a week, Ernie Kubr gets off the night shift and fires up his computer at his home in Nebraska so that he can watch for illegal immigrants trying to slip across the Arizona desert 1,400 miles away.
Kubr uses his mouse to pan with a video camera across desert trails, and stands ready to report anyone he sees to federal authorities in Arizona. He has spotted people twice since he started doing this in November, and "that makes it all worthwhile," even though none of them got caught.
"Sometimes it can be discouraging, but knowing that I'm attempting to do the federal government's job helps inspire me," said Kubr, who works at a manufacturing business in the Omaha area and belongs to an amateur border-watching group called the TechnoPatriots.
Self-appointed border-watchers are increasingly using remotely operated cameras to help catch people sneaking into the country. The cameras represent a high-tech twist on the usual practice of sitting in lawn chairs or pickup trucks close to the border. I think part of the southern border fence should include cameras where ordinary patriots can help spot and report illegal lawbreakers remotely via the internet.
..more from article
In 2006, Texas ran a one-month pilot program, called the Texas Border Neighborhood Watch, that used 24 cameras. The Web site had more than 27 million hits, and law enforcement officers apprehended an undisclosed number of people based on at least seven calls, authorities said.
I for one would volunteer an hour a week to watch and I'm sure other law abiding citizens would do the same.
If they could equip the cameras with remotely operated stun-guns then I think it would be a much better deterrent, plus citizens could earn points having the highest scores and captures. In that way it would get teenage gamers interested in putting their video game skills to good use for national security.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - At least a couple of times a week, Ernie Kubr gets off the night shift and fires up his computer at his home in Nebraska so that he can watch for illegal immigrants trying to slip across the Arizona desert 1,400 miles away.
Kubr uses his mouse to pan with a video camera across desert trails, and stands ready to report anyone he sees to federal authorities in Arizona. He has spotted people twice since he started doing this in November, and "that makes it all worthwhile," even though none of them got caught.
"Sometimes it can be discouraging, but knowing that I'm attempting to do the federal government's job helps inspire me," said Kubr, who works at a manufacturing business in the Omaha area and belongs to an amateur border-watching group called the TechnoPatriots.
Self-appointed border-watchers are increasingly using remotely operated cameras to help catch people sneaking into the country. The cameras represent a high-tech twist on the usual practice of sitting in lawn chairs or pickup trucks close to the border. I think part of the southern border fence should include cameras where ordinary patriots can help spot and report illegal lawbreakers remotely via the internet.
..more from article
In 2006, Texas ran a one-month pilot program, called the Texas Border Neighborhood Watch, that used 24 cameras. The Web site had more than 27 million hits, and law enforcement officers apprehended an undisclosed number of people based on at least seven calls, authorities said.
I for one would volunteer an hour a week to watch and I'm sure other law abiding citizens would do the same.
If they could equip the cameras with remotely operated stun-guns then I think it would be a much better deterrent, plus citizens could earn points having the highest scores and captures. In that way it would get teenage gamers interested in putting their video game skills to good use for national security.