Federal report says Border Patrol"s drone program doesn"t fly

 ((Photo by Gary Williams/Getty Images))

For nearly a decade, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has touted its drone program as an “effective technology to further enhance operational capabilities,” but according to the agency’s 2014 end of fiscal year report, the results are anything but impressive, fueling new calls for the program to be grounded.

The program has a fleet of 9 Predator drones and the Department of Homeland Security is planning to spend another $443 million for more aircraft to help secure the Mexican border. But a Jan. 6 report from the agency’s inspector general is advising against the expansion.

“Notwithstanding the significant investment, we see no evidence that the drones contribute to a more secure border, and there is no reason to invest additional taxpayer funds at this time,” said DHS Inspector General John Roth. “Securing our borders is a crucial mission for CBP and DHS. CBP’s drone program has so far fallen far short of being an asset to that effort.”

The IG report, the second audit of the program since 2012, found there is no reliable method of measuring the program’s performance and determined that its impact in stemming illegal
immigration has been minimal.

According to the CBP Fiscal Year Report, the drones flew about 10 percent fewer hours in 2014 than the previous year and 20 percent fewer than in 2013. The missions were credited with contributing to the seizure of just under 1,000 pounds of cocaine in 2014, compared to 2,645 in 2013 and 3,900 in 2012. But apprehensions of illegal immigrants between 2014 and 2013 fell despite the flood of more than 60,000 unaccompanied children coming across the border from Central America.

Combined with the decrease in productivity, the OIG report disclosed the staggering costs to run the program, more than $12,000 per hour when figuring fuel, salaries for operators, equipment and overhead.

Eugene Schied, assistant commissioner of the CBP’s office of administration for CBP, said the IG used flawed methods to draw its conclusions.

“The expectations the OIG focused on were based on the program receiving resources that were not obtained, performance measures that were never employed by CBP, or technological capabilities that have been surpassed,” Scheid said. “This context is critical for presenting an accurate assessment of the CBP UAS program’s current performance and achievements.”

Scheid went on to say in his memo that CBP has no plans to acquire additional UAS beyond the one replacement aircraft, nor does the Office of Air and Marine have a contract or funding in place to expand the program.

He said current funding is being used to expand the program’s infrastructure and increase the utilization of the fleet.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) called for patience with the UAS program.

“It’s a lot cheaper to use drones than helicopters and they can stay in the air longer,” Hunter said. “It still comes down to having the manpower on the ground to support the drone missions.”

Hunter said CBP needs to figure out what the need and use of the UAS is but marry that strategy with human resources on the ground. He made the correlation to the limitations other forms of border security technology such as sensors has in that unless there are agents who can respond quickly to the location, they do little good.

“Right now, I’m not sure CBP has the manpower to support the drone missions,” Hunter said.

What he did express concern over, also given the rise in unaccompanied children crossing the border this year was that, “CBP isn’t doing themselves any favor by flying less hours.”

View the original article here

Federal report says Border Patrol"s drone program doesn"t fly

Federal prosecutors to review case of J"can youth killed by NYPD officer

NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — United States federal prosecutors say they will review the case of a Jamaican youth killed by a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer to determine whether the civil rights of the unarmed youth were violated.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York made the announcement a day after a grand jury in the Bronx, New York refused to re-indict white police officer Richard Haste, who last year shot dead Ramarley Graham, 18, in his Bronx home.Haste was indicted in June 2012, four months after the shooting of Graham on February 2, 2012, in the bathroom of his home.But, in May, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett tossed the case, stating that an assistant district attorney wrongly instructed the grand jury to disregard whether other cops had told Haste that Graham was armed. Graham was, in fact, unarmed, prosecutors said.Barrett gave the Bronx District Attorney’s Office leave to re-indict Haste, but the second grand jury this week decided against a manslaughter charge.The announcement by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York came as demonstrators Thursday protested the grand jury’s decision.They likened the case to that of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old black youth, who was fatally shot by neighbourhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, in Sanford, Florida.In what protesters said was a blatant miscarriage of justice, Zimmerman was acquitted last month of the charges by an all-white female jury.“The criminal justice system has failed us, just as it failed the family of Trayvon Martin,” said Constance Malcolm, Ramarley’s Jamaican-born mother, at a rally outside of the Bronx District Attorney’s office.Frank Graham, Ramarley’s Jamaican-born father, also repeated the words of Martin’s parents after Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder.“If Ramarley had been white, would this have happened. He was in his home, where you’re supposed to be free and safe.”Graham family attorney, Jeffrey Emdin, described the decision not to indict Haste as a punch in the gut. “We feel it’s an injustice. We feel that this officer is getting away with murder. It’s a really, really sad day. The family is terribly disappointed. They think it’s a travesty, and we are going to be pursuing a federal investigation.”Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office is “surprised and shocked by the grand jury’s finding of criminal liability in the death of Ramarley Graham. “We are saddened for the family of the deceased young man,” he said.Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents law enforcement officers in New York City, agreed with the grand jury’s decision.“This grand jury recognised that Police Officer Haste was pursuing what he had every reason to believe was a man with a gun,” he said, adding that Haste faced “imminent danger”.The NYPD said Haste remains on modified duty following the grand jury’s decision.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don’t use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed:mailto:advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

comments powered by

View the original article here

Federal prosecutors to review case of J"can youth killed by NYPD officer