News Flash

The Winston-Salem Police Department was recently awarded $700,000 through a U.S. Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Assistance grant opportunity.  Eligibility for this competitive, open-bid solicitation included local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.  The Winston-Salem Police Department was one of ten agencies nationwide selected to receive funding under the BJA FY 2020 Strategies for Policing Innovation (SPI) grant opportunity.  

The grant award is designed to enhance the Winston-Salem Police Department’s capabilities in identifying and defining the most pressing crime problems and institute lasting operational and organizational changes that foster reliance on and effective use of evidence based practices, data, and technology.  Recipients of the funding under the FY 2020 SPI program will test promising crime prevention, response, and reduction practices; implement evidence-based practices; improve the effectiveness and efficiency of police agencies’ processes and procedures; implement and evaluate justice information sharing technology; and establish a system for evaluating effectiveness. 

The Winston-Salem Police Department has elected to use this award to support the development of a Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) that will be one of the first centers of its kind in the region. The Department will implement the Real Time Crime Center in a phased approach. Phase 1 involves the establishment of the initial Real Time Crime Center, which has already been established and is operational.  Phase 2 will be an evolution of the project, with a large scale Real Time Crime Center to serve the City. On January 4, 2021, the City formally accepted the grant award, following approval by the City Council. Under this grant award, the City has no obligation to provide matching funds.

The mission of the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) is to provide a law enforcement agency with the ability to capitalize on a wide and expanding range of technologies for efficient and effective policing. Such efforts allow law enforcement officers to respond quickly, or even immediately, to crimes in progress or to those that recently occurred. The technologies available enable law enforcement to respond to crime events more efficiently, more deliberately, with improved operational intelligence, and with a proactive emphasis on officer, citizen, and community safety. 

With the development of the Real Time Crime Center; the Winston-Salem Police Department encourages citizens to “See Something? Say Something!” Citizens can text tips, to include information, photos and videos, to 336-276-1717.  The text can be anonymous or senders can choose to share their name, email address and location of the crime they are providing information about. This number is not able to receive voice calls and is not manned 24 hours a day. Please remember to use 911 in the event of an emergency. Citizens can submit information as mentioned and may also contact CRIMESTOPPERS at 336-727-2800, regarding a possible reward for the information provided. 

In partnership with local businesses and residents working together to keep Winston-Salem safe, one feature available in the RTCC is the Camera Registry Program. Through this program, businesses and residents have the option to share the location of their security cameras with the Police Department. Sharing does not mean the department will have access to your camera and there is no additional cost involved with sharing camera locations. The Police Department will not share your information with anyone else, and will only contact you if a crime occurs in your neighborhood. To share your security camera locations with the Winston-Salem Police Department, please visit https://cityofws.registry.cam/login. 

The Real Time Crime Center will be a part of the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) under the authority of Assistant Chief N.V. Miles and Captain S.W. Tollie. Lieutenant Amy Gauldin, who is also assigned to CID, will be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the RTCC. Questions regarding the RTCC initiative can be directed to Lt. Gauldin at 336-773-7745.