Virtual Protection along Arizona's Border

Submitted by Allie_Bell on Thu, 12/17/2009 - 1:46pm

Virtual border

Speaking of feeling vulnerable — add a virtual border fence to the latest list of protection measures that technology has been applied to. According to the Associated Press, government officials overseeing the construction of a virtual fence along the 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border hope to turn over the first segment to the Border Patrol in January. Construction will begin on the second stretch in a few weeks.
Although the government has plans to extend the network of cameras, ground sensors and radars along most of the border, officials said they'll draw on lessons from the first two segments in southern Arizona as they contemplate if and where to build more sections and how fast to complete them.
The government estimated it would cost $6.7 billion to cover most of the Mexican border by 2014, according to Mark Borkowski, the government's director of the virtual fence project.
Once both Southern Arizona sections are in operation along 53 miles of the border, the next step would be to authorize construction through the majority of the 375-mile border in Arizona, the nation's busiest gateway for immigrant smuggling and a major thoroughfare for marijuana smuggling.
By using cameras, ground sensors and radars mounted on a series of towers, the system allows a small number of dispatchers to track illegal border-crossers on a computer monitor. They'll be able to zoom in with cameras to see whether it's a person or animal moving, and decide whether the movement requires sending Border Patrol agents to the scene.
The virtual fence is designed to add another layer of protection at the border, along with thousands of Border Patrol agents and 650 miles of real fences. The government and the contractor building the virtual fence, Boeing Co., have had a series of setbacks earlier in the project.
While a prototype virtual fence in southern Arizona has been in use for nearly two years, the first permanent 23-mile stretch along the Mexican border near Sasabe, Ariz., would be handed over to the Border Patrol in January for testing, if everything goes as planned. The government hopes to begin construction on a second 30-mile section south of Ajo, Ariz., once environmental clearances are finalized.
Boeing Co.: http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/sbinet/index.html

Everything nowadays is tied to technology in some way. I can't even leave the house without checking to make sure I armed the system, double checked that I have my cell phone in hand, and then automatically hook up my GPS before starting the car. Granted, locks would protect the home, old fashioned maps work just as well, and there was a time of survival before the cell phone was invented — right?! ... I still feel vulnerable in some way without technology though, despite knowing my grandparents survived just fine without today's latest gadgets.

Speaking of feeling vulnerable — add a virtual border fence to the latest list of protection measures that technology has been applied to. According to the Associated Press, government officials overseeing the construction of a virtual fence along the 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border hope to turn over the first segment to the Border Patrol in January. Construction will begin on the second stretch in a few weeks.

Although the government has plans to extend the network of cameras, ground sensors and radars along most of the border, officials said they'll draw on lessons from the first two segments in Southern Arizona as they contemplate if and where to build more sections and how fast to complete them.

The government estimated it would cost $6.7 billion to cover most of the Mexican border by 2014, according to Mark Borkowski, the government's director of the virtual fence project.

Once both Southern Arizona sections are in operation along 53 miles of the border, the next step would be to authorize construction through the majority of the 375-mile border in Arizona, the nation's busiest gateway for immigrant smuggling and a major thoroughfare for marijuana smuggling.

By using cameras, ground sensors and radars mounted on a series of towers, the system allows a small number of dispatchers to track illegal border-crossers on a computer monitor. They'll be able to zoom in with cameras to see whether it's a person or animal moving, and decide whether the movement requires sending Border Patrol agents to the scene.

The virtual fence is designed to add another layer of protection at the border, along with thousands of Border Patrol agents and 650 miles of real fences. The government and the contractor building the virtual fence, Boeing Co., have had a series of setbacks earlier in the project.

While a prototype virtual fence in Southern Arizona has been in use for nearly two years, the first permanent 23-mile stretch along the Mexican border near Sasabe, Ariz., would be handed over to the Border Patrol in January for testing, if everything goes as planned. The government hopes to begin construction on a second 30-mile section south of Ajo, Ariz., once environmental clearances are finalized.

Boeing Co.: http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/sbinet/index.html