Winston-Salem’s city staff currently manage more than 500 security cameras installed at 28 different city facilities. According to the city, more than 200 of these security cameras were added after the city council approved a $600,000 purchase of public safety cameras and installation services in May 2022.

And now they’re getting more. 

City staff have received requests to expand the public safety security camera platform with the Winston-Salem-based surveillance company Call24 Security to 33 new sites, and plan to install the new cameras within the next 18 months. 

In an email to TCB, the city’s Chief Information Officer Tom Kureczka stated that an estimated 291 cameras will be placed at various sites around the city. All video from these cameras will be fed into the Winston-Salem Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center, Kureczka wrote, noting that the camera estimates are based on “on-site walk-through visits by IT staff with WSPD, the camera provider, and the vendor that is contracted for fiber installs.” Kureczka stated that they “may adjust a few sites once the actual work begins.”

The total pricing estimate for the projects is $900,000.

Council approved the purchase on Sept. 18, and the project will be funded by the 2018 Bonds Project budget and the operating and capital budgets of the city’s Information Systems department.

Kureczka gave a brief overview of the project to the public safety committee and council members on Sept. 11.

Previous funding has gone toward cameras that are already set up in several locations — Winston-Salem Fairgrounds has 31, Winston Lake Golf Course has 11 and Benton Convention Center has 37. Fire Station 13 has 13 cameras.

“I’d like to get cameras on all the fire stations,” Kureczka said, but added that “there’s no funding right now for that.”

Some of the future locations around the city include Crystal Towers, the exterior of City Hall, Fairview Park and Winston Lake Park.

Surveillance in Winston-Salem and Greensboro

In January, council agreed to install 25 Flock Safety cameras across the city. These automated license-plate readers were placed in intersections across all eight wards of the city as part of a pilot program in partnership with WSPD along with their body-camera provider, AXON. This trial run will be free to the city through the end of the yearlong pilot period; after that, each camera will cost the city $2,500 per year. 

An example of a Flock safety camera

Placed within the WSPD’s ShotSpotter coverage area, cameras are connected to the department’s Real Time Crime Center through the Flock Safety app and cloud-based surveillance technology Fusus. Interim City Manager Patrice Toney told TCB in January that each of the eight wards would receive about three cameras. 

TCB spoke to city residents about the program in January. Many were not fans, calling it an “invasion of privacy.”

In September 2022, Greensboro also got more Flock Safety cameras. City council members approved locations for 15 additional cameras, as the city already had 10 cameras in place.

Existing security camera sites and camera counts in Winston-Salem:

  • Bryce A Stuart Building: 34
  • City Hall Building: 32
  • Lowery Street Facility: 29
  • WSPD Waughtown District: 13
  • Winston Lake Golf Course: 11
  • Landfills: 37
  • Benton Convention Center: 37
  • Cherry St. Parking Deck: 14
  • Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center: 16
  • Minnie Lee Davis Harris Recreation Center: 12
  • MLK Recreation Center: 18
  • Fairgrounds: 31
  • WSTA, Shop, and Admin: 72
  • Winston Square Park: 3
  • 4th Street Security Cameras: 6
  • Merschel Park: 6
  • Corpening Plaza: 4
  • Benton South Gallery Ballroom: 16
  • Carl Russell Community Center: 20
  • Meter Shop: 12
  • Fire Station 13: 13
  • Hydroponics Plant: 6
  • Rupert Bell Recreation Center: 17
  • Sprague Street Recreation Center: 12
  • Sedge Garden Recreation Center: 14
  • Little Creek Recreation Center: 12
  • WC Sims Recreation Center: 10
  • Brown & Douglas Recreation Center: 10

Total camera count: 517

Winston-Salem’s future camera locations and their estimated costs:

  • City Hall Exterior: $37,775.00
  • Streets Operations: $51,679.70
  • Fleet Services: $64,442.64
  • Reynolda Road Recycling: $14,120.53
  • Miller Park Recreation Center: $37,648.59
  • Georgia Taylor Recreation Center: $29,641.38
  • Old Town Recreation Center: $28,643.54
  • Winston Lake Golf Course Maintenance Building: $26,478.74
  • South Fork Recreation Center: $36,023.74
  • Polo Park Recreation Center: $37,664.41

Total estimated cost: $364,118.27

Total estimated cameras according to Kureczka: 111

Future cameras at swimming pools and parks and their estimated costs:

  • Bolton Playground, 1590 Bolton St SW: $39,380
  • Bolton Pool, 1590 Bolton St SW: $30,610
  • Crystal Towers, 625 W 6th St: $17,420
  • Fairview Park, 925 Bethlehem Lane: $15,060
  • Hobby Park Mtn. Bike Area, 2301 W Clemmonsville Rd: $21,870
  • Hobby Park RC Area, 2301 W Clemmonsville Rd: $17,120
  • Jamison Park, 285 Meadowlark Dr: $35,710
  • Jerry King Park, 4700 Ogburn Ave: $33,600
  • Kimberley Park, 2001 Pittsburg Ave: $11,310
  • Kimberley Park Pool, 620 Burton St NW: $15,870
  • Long Creek Pool, 5801 Bethania Tobaccoville Rd, Pfafftown, NC 27040: $23,930
  • Miller Park Playground, 400 Leisure Ln: $36,300
  • Miller Park Trails, 400 Leisure Ln: $27,160
  • Nelson Malloy Park, 2619 Bethabara Rd: $27,620
  • Parkland Pool, 1660 Brewer Rd: $34,070
  • Polo Park Pool, 1850 Polo Rd: $13,860
  • Reynolds Park Pool, 2450 Reynolds Park Rd: $38,760
  • Salem Lake Linville Road, Linville Road SE: $14,130
  • Salem Lake Pier, 815 Salem Lake Rd: $16,660
  • Salem Lake Playground, 815 Salem Lake Rd: $17,850
  • Winston Lake Park, 1344 Winston Park Dr: $19,620
  • Winston Lake Park Shelter 2, 1344 Winston Park Dr: $11,910
  • Recreation Warehouse, 2450 Reynolds Park Rd: $48,980

Total estimated cost: $568,800

Total estimated cameras according to Kureczka: 180

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