Latin America. Data from the texas Department of Public Safety's (DPS) more than 1,200 cameras along the border show that in the 14 months since the state began beefing up its policing measures along the Texas-Mexico border, the number of traffic incidents resulting in apprehensions has decreased.
Experts and critics say the information gathered raises some questions about the effectiveness of this increase in security and what use Texas will give to the $800 million lawmakers will set aside over the next two years for border security.
DPS spokesman Tom Vinger told the media it would be a "mistake" to draw conclusions about strengthening security just by analyzing information gathered from surveillance cameras.
Vinger says full surveillance, which is impossible to carry out because the border region is too large, would be necessary to "make a timely assessment of the true level of security."
From 2012 to the end of June 2014, 48% of smuggling incidents detected by cameras, which are located on the border edge, resulted in arrests. Since the reinforcement began in July 2014, the interdiction rate has been close to 40%.
Experts have warned that the data, which does not take into account all activities in the border strip, have limitations.
"It's definitely contradictory," said Marc Rosenblum, who monitors border issues from the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. "It's fair to say when you see this data that it raises more questions."
The crackdown launched by former Gov. Rick Perry to combat the crossing of undocumented immigrants has been described by DPS agents as a success, pointing to statistics on drug arrests and seizures. Some critics say those numbers reflect federal, not state, results.
Steve McCraw, director of DPS, has pointed directly to the use of cameras as a rule.
"Now we have photographic evidence to support it, there are 53 arrests of smuggling incidents. What happened?? Did they issue an order?" he said in February.
Since the beginning of 2012, the cameras have helped detect 143,952 smuggling events, leading to 64,812 arrests and the seizure of 272,427 pounds of narcotics. This includes the work of DPS, the Border Patrol, and other public safety agencies.
But it's unknown why the staff boost would match the cameras showing an overall drop in the rate of apprehension orders. To add to the confusion: the amount of drugs confiscated by camera detection increased in that period.
"For months DPS has not been able to offer a complete picture of exactly summarizing what the reinforcement has obtained," said Joaquin Castro, a U.S. Representative, D-San Antonio, who has criticized the border reinforcement.
Vinger responded that "to focus solely on percentages is to stop seeing the big picture of how (cameras) have dramatically increased our detection and law enforcement capabilities in general."
DPS also steered toward recent changes in the collection of data from cameras that record when individuals return to Mexico when the law is enforced. Taking this into account, the DPS noted, there was a 62% interdiction rate in September in the border reinforcement zone.
David Aguilar, former director of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), noted that "cameras are important, but they are only part of the data."
