Winston-Salem City Council approves installation of new public safety cameras

The Winston-Salem City Council voted Monday to fund the installation of new surveillance cameras meant to prevent crime. 

Currently, the city manages 367 security cameras installed near City Hall, Lowery Street and Winston Square Park among other sites. 

Council agreed to spend $600,000 to install and maintain new surveillance cameras at several locations across the city, including at the Carolina Classic Fairgrounds, Merschel Park, Hanes Mill Landfill, and 12 different recreation centers. 

At a committee meeting earlier this month, City Manager Lee Garrity said the cameras are a cost-effective security solution for city parks. 

“As many of you know, we're short police officers," said Garrity. "We only have I think one park ranger at the moment. And they can't cover all those parks. So we will be aggressively adding cameras.”

Officials say the majority of the new cameras will be installed in the next 18-24 months.