Feds award grant to Mission police for high-tech surveillance equipment

MISSION — A high-tech camera system will soon help police officers monitor activity along the U.S.-Mexico border — an area police officials say is used by human and drug smugglers.

Federal officials awarded the Mission Police Department a grant for a surveillance system valued at $11,500, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-El Paso, announced Thursday. Sometime next year, the department will receive the system and training on how to use it.

Police plan to place cameras in Mission’s rural area along the U.S. border with Mexico, said Lt. Martin Garza, a spokesman for the department. Housing and commercial development is found throughout the targeted area, but few people have moved there. Given the low number of residents, patrol officers prefer to police more populated areas.

Human and drug smugglers, however, often use the rural corridors for illegal activity, Garza said.

“It will allow us to send our patrol officers, and respond to calls for service, in other areas that are more populated,” Garza said. “The cameras will be placed in known corridors for human and drug smuggling along the border.”

The cameras are equipped with thermal imaging and night vision technology. And most importantly, Garza said, they are portable. Investigators plan to vary the cameras’ locations, depending on tips and periods of increased criminal activity.

The grant comes complete with training from on how best to use the equipment. The training and the cost of the system are funded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program. Mission is among 366 departments nationwide selected to receive money for the equipment.

“The rural communities in Mission will benefit greatly from these funds,” Cuellar said in a statement. “I am pleased to see that this specialized commercial equipment will strengthen the daily operations of Mission’s law enforcement agencies.”

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Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.