The first incarnation of the U.S. Border Patrol, the Mounted Watchmen, was created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Disorganized and poorly funded, it was responsible for patrolling the Mexican border for illegal Chinese immigrants. Today the U.S. Border Patrol uses advanced technology such as night-vision glasses, automatic rifles, electronic alarms, helicopters, airplanes, unmanned drones, and high-speed interceptor boats to ensure the security of America's borders. Border Patrol tracks the history of this agency, highlighting changes in leadership, duties, equipment, and potential threats.
Modern law enforcement agencies fight crime on many levels, from the street to the boardroom to cyberspace. In many ways the history of modern civilization is the history of crime and the battle against it. As society and technology have become more complex and connected, so have criminal enterprises and the police organizations that oppose them. Each book in the Law Enforcement Agencies series the evolution of a specific police force or unit from its inception to the present. The series explores the full range of crime fighting tactics in use today, from the cop on the beat to high-tech surveillance and computer forensics.
Introduction 7
1 Developement of the Border Patrol 12
2 How the Service Began 18
3 Prohibition and Gunfighting 28
4 New Professionalism 40
5 Smuggling People 52
6 The"Bandit Teams" 64
7 Borstar and Bortac 79
8 The North Country and 9/11 91
9 The Cartels 99
Chronology 110
Endnotes
Bibliography 115
Further Resources 117
Index 119
About the Author 125
Overview
The first incarnation of the U.S. Border Patrol, the Mounted Watchmen, was created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Disorganized and poorly funded, it was responsible for patrolling the Mexican border for illegal Chinese immigrants. Today the U.S. Border Patrol uses advanced technology such as night-vision glasses, automatic rifles, electronic alarms, helicopters, airplanes, unmanned drones, and high-speed interceptor boats to ensure the security of America's borders. Border Patrol tracks the history of this ...