I remember reading articles about border entry and exit points. They have cameras that scan license plates for stolen vehicles. Due to lack of staffing, the positive hits were being ignored by staff. Drones, sensors and cameras are worthless.
“Drones, sensors and cameras are worthless.”
We need all the components to control the border - Infrastructure (wall), Technology, People and Policy.
Without people to guard them, walls are pretty useless too.
The thing about both infrastructure and technology, is that they make the people much more effective - so called “force multipliers”. They don’t do everything, like a “silver bullet” to the problem, but they do accomplish some things. Those license plate cameras capture a picture of who is driving each stolen car. These new video systems make one Border Patrol Officer the equivalent of a dozen or more, in terms of detecting people trying to hide around the border.
San Diego is going to get some really solid infrastructure (18 foot bollard barrier, a second 30 foot bollard barrier with high speed patrol road, lights and cameras), as well as a suite of powerful technology:
-Artificial Intelligence software to constantly monitor camera and sensor feeds to detect intruders (and those approaching) at near 100%.
- Buried sensors in the enforcement zone that can detect every footfall.
- Augmentations to the Officers (like this visual surveillance system) that can give each super-human abilities, like seeing a kid hiding under a bush two miles away.
- Ground penetrating radars to detect tunneling.
- and probably more.
Bottom Line is that all these things work, and that no one thing can do it all.