Guarding the U.S.-Mexico border, live from suburban New York

[babylonsister]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/12/border.security.cameras.immigration/index.html


Guarding the U.S.-Mexico border, live from suburban New York


(CNN) -- When her baby girl takes an afternoon nap, or on those nights when she just can't sleep, Sarah Andrews, 32, tosses off her identity as a suburban stay-at-home mom and becomes something more exotic: a "virtual deputy" patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border.

A Texas program lets Internet users around the world monitor live video from the Mexico border.

From her house in a suburb of Rochester, New York, Andrews spends at least four hours a day watching a site called BlueServo.net.

There, because of a $2 million grant from the state of Texas, anyone in the world can watch grainy live video scenes of cactuses, desert mountains and the Rio Grande along Texas' portion of the international border.

When Andrews spots something she deems suspicious -- perhaps a fuzzy character moving from right to left across the screen or people wading through the river with what appear to be trash bags atop their heads -- she and the site's 43,000 registered users can send e-mail messages straight to local law enforcement, who then decide whether to act.

"Today, there's a couple vehicles that are parked side by side next to each other," she said by phone, her 7-month-old cooing in the background, "but I can't tell what's going on, you know?"

The video site's supporters see the 15-camera project as a stride forward in U.S. efforts to halt illegal immigration, drug smuggling and border violence. Run by the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, an association of 20 sheriffs from border counties, the project seeks to spread responsibility for the border's security across the nation's masses of Internet users.

About 20 million people have clicked on BlueServo.net since it launched November 20, and the Web site has gained national attention at a time when many eyes already were focused on the southern border of the United States.

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[HelenWheels]

1. She should get a life. nt

[newfie11]

2. more power to her and others like her.

[babylonsister]

3. Why? nt

[newfie11]

4. Well she can stay home and take care of her baby

while looking for people who are breaking the law. Why not? Sounds like a great hobby for a stay at home mom.