TORONTO – A new study released by the Canadian International Council (CIC) reveals both Canada and the United States could do a much better job at harnessing new technologies to better survey the thousands of miles of open spaces between Canada-U.S. border points.

In Technological Integration as a Means of Enhancing Border Security and Reducing Transnational Crime, author Margaret Kalacska examines the porosity of the Canada-U.S. border, focusing specifically on the areas between ports of entry because she suggests these areas facilitate criminal activities that endanger the national security and economies of both countries.

As part of a broader strategy for improving Canada-U.S. border security, Dr. Kalacska recommends an integrated cooperative approach that makes use of technological tools, information and manpower as the best choices for mitigating the threats to security and economic growth. She suggests several tools that would enhance security, including: (1) remote sensing, employing various sensors for remote observation to assist in prioritization of locations that require deployed sensors or are indicative of trans-border activities, (2) motion activated imaging sensors, (3) below ground sensors and (4) thermal cameras.

However, the author cautions that technology alone is not the total answer. “Information from any technology must be made available in as near real time as possible to the officers on the ground and there must be enough agents to respond to the threats during the time the activities are actually happening,” explains Dr. Kalacska.

Her study further recommends: (1) increasing technological infrastructure for the Canada-U.S. Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) and coast guard squads between the ports of entry, (2) increasing basic security and communications measures at the small-and-medium-size rural points of entry, (3) harmonizing the sentences for smugglers and traffickers between Canada and the U.S. without eligibility for early release for those convicted in Canada.

“Sentences handed out by Canadian courts to smugglers and traffickers must be more punitive and statutes allowing for the early release of such criminals be re-written,” says Dr. Kalacska, whose current study builds on her original framework, Remote Sensing As A Tool For Border Security Enhancement (July 2008).

On July 13, Dr. Kalacska will be giving a talk about her current paper at The University Club of Toronto. The event, which starts at 12:00 pm, is co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution, the Canadian International Council (CIC) and The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).

Dr. Kalacska is a geography professor at McGill University, a former post-doctoral research fellow at Simon Fraser University’s School of Criminology, and one of eight fellows chosen by the CIC to contribute new perspectives in vital areas of Canadian foreign policy leading to further discussion and debate. The program’s initial areas of focus for 2008-09 comprise: China, border issues, Arctic sovereignty and security and energy.