Rick Perry's Big Brother program is failing. From the Texas Tribune: "$153,800 Per Arrest"
During his 2006 re-election campaign, Perry promised to launch a virtual neighborhood watch program on the border, allowing internet viewers to troll for illegal crossers. He said he would spend $5 million and line the border with "hundreds" of cameras. Lawmakers didn't go for the idea, refusing to fund the cameras with state dollars. But four years later, Perry has invested a total of $4 million of federal grant money that he controls in the Texas Border Watch Program. Twenty-nine cameras have been installed on the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border, or one camera for every 41 miles of border. Internet viewers have helped police make a total of 26 arrests — that’s about $153,800 per arrest. And some border law agencies are not even using the cameras for police work.
