GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — It seems like something out of a movie. Law enforcement using a network of cameras to catch the bad guys within minutes of a crime.
But it's been a reality in Forsyth County for almost two years and it could be on its way to Guilford County as well.
Real-time crime centers are the newest technology law enforcement agencies are using to find criminals.
The Forsyth County sheriff has been using it for the last year and a half, now Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers wants to bring similar technology to his jurisdiction.
"When we watch CSI on television and they have a bunch of these real-time scenes, that's all it is. When you see that it's exactly what they're doing. They are watching the suspects, pulling it up right then, to find out how to better serve their communities. Chicago, DC, we're talking about Guilford County. Forsyth County has it and many other areas around us have it."
This new technology would allow for Guilford County Sheriff and GPD to quickly access and view private and public cameras in the area of a crime.
Forsyth County Sheriff and Winston Salem PD have been using this technology for almost two years now, and Public Information Office Christina Howell says this technology isn't for spying on you but for helping better our communities.
"a misconception is that we want to be 'Big Brother'. We don't want to be 'Big Brother' in the sense that we don't want to look into what our residents are doing. We want to be a big brother in the sense that when there's a bully on the playground, our community members tell us and we want to go ensure the bullying stops."
As of now, there is no timetable for when Guilford County will be able to install this technology, but Sheriff Danny Rogers is optimistic they will be able to do so in the near future.