BlueServo

BlueServo is an American company whose primary service is the Virtual Community Watch, a service which crowdsources the surveillance of the Texas-Mexico border and allows for users to anonymously report the movement of drugs trafficked to the United States, so that they may be stopped. The initiative, first proposed in June 2006, was initially launched by the State of Texas in 2007, with an initial 200 cameras installed along the border.[1] The service is backed by the Texas Border Sheriffs' Coalition and has been endorsed by incumbent governor Rick Perry, despite 2009 criticisms arguing that the service has been ineffective in reducing the flow of illegal immigration.[2] It has also come under scrutiny on issues of civil liberties and the stoking of nativist sentiment.[3]

On July 23, 2014, Frank Gaffney suggested it should be used to prevent criminals from entering the United States while thousands of children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are coming in.[4]

See also
  • Internet Eyes, a crowdsourcing of British CCTV footage for the reporting of crimes taking place in urban areas

References
  1. "Web users to 'patrol' US border". BBC News. 2 June 2006.
  2. Brandi Grissom (2009-01-26). "Virtual border surveillance program ineffective, cost millions". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 2009-07-02.
  3. Claire Prentice (26 December 2009). "Armchair deputies enlisted to patrol US-Mexico border". BBC News.
  4. Frank Gaffney, No-Brainer: The ‘BlueServo’ Solution To Border Insecurity, Center for Security Policy, July 23, 2014
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