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Proyecto
ACCESO is promoting the
rule of law throughout the Americas.
The ACCESO team works with all the sectors in the administration
of justice. We are judges, prosecutors, public defenders,
legal educators, and journalists. We are building new
systems for conflict resolution that are fair, efficient
and transparent.
By training legal innovators, together we are srengthening
the rule of law in our Hemisphere.
For more information contact us
[email protected]
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On the Border: ACCESO Tec rolls out new GPS Unit 4/Human Right Monitor for Legal Observer Project on the U.S.-Mexico Border
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ACCESO Tec has done it again!
Volunteers who will monitor the activities of vigilante border watchers in coming weeks will be equipped with GPS units to assist organizers in tracking their whereabouts and ensuring their safety it was announced today by the San Diego/Imperial Legal Observer Coalition and ACCESO Tec, a program of California Western School of Law in San Diego, which donated the equipment for use by the legal observers.
Volunteers carrying these specialized GPS units can be tracked on a computer via the Internet so that project coordinators can observe their location and movements in real time online.“The safety of our volunteer Legal Observers is of critical importance,” said Juan Gallegos, coordinator of the Legal Observer Coalition. “With this technology we will be able to monitor their exact positions, despite rough terrain in the area that often makes communication and visual observation difficult.
While the vigilantes have chosen to arm themselves with weapons, the legal observers will be armed with GPS units and the law.” This technology was first tested during California Western School of Law’s NAFTA Summer Program, an educational experience in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. “Our students carried the GPS units across the border and others could experience it live on the web,” explained Professor James Cooper, Director of ACCESO Tec. “This technology was originally developed for businesses that wanted to track trucks and other physical assets, but we have transformed it into an opportunity for remote participation in human activities.”
“The daily growth of our cities and our region, the necessity of becoming more efficient with shorter timelines for delivery, and the need to be connected to the people in our lives, are the main things on our minds every day,” said Alfonso Paredes, CEO of Rhinocerus, the creators of the original technology. The company was recognized by the Mexican Ministry of the Economy as one of the 25 most innovative companies of Mexico. Rhinocerus president Jorge Sanchez agrees: “Using this cutting edge GPS unit to provide more security to the Legal Observers monitoring border vigilantes is a great application of this technology.”
“Many border vigilantes are known to carry firearms and have also been observed carrying knives, so the possibility of physical danger for the volunteers is a very real concern,” says Lilia Velasquez. “Moreover, it is predictable that people will unexpectedly stumble upon each other in the mountains and canyons where the vigilante activity is occurring, creating an unsafe situation. With this technology we would might be able to direct our volunteers away from dangerous areas or at least be able to find them if there were to be an incident.
”A large number of volunteer legal observers have already attended mandatory training sessions and worked in east San Diego County, monitoring vigilantes in July and August. A vigilante group called Friends of the Border Patrol began a second operation on September 16.
Many of the volunteers are lawyers and law students, including a team of fifteen students from California Western School of Law, the home of ACCESO Tec. ACCESO Trainer, Lilia Velasquez, has also led Legal Observer missions over September and October 2005.
Once again, Proyecto ACCESO continues its objective to provide the legal sector with new judicial innovations. ACCESO Tec has innovated over past few years with the ACCESO Cam, workshops on computer forensics and DNA evidence as well as initiatives involving distance education.
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