news-record.com

GREENSBORO — The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office will use $105,000 in federal stimulus money to buy computer servers that can help officials tap into surveillance cameras in emergencies.

The money is coming in a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, and systems will be installed over the coming months, said Maj. Tom Sheppard with the sheriff’s office.

Essentially, if a school, business or facility agrees, a computer server is installed at the site by the county.

In an emergency, the servers would allow officials at Guilford Metro 911 to tap into video surveillance systems and have a live feed of what is happening at the location.

“It allows Guilford Metro to be able to tell officers en route what is going on,” Sheppard said.

He said the system is ideal for schools, hospitals, the courthouse and other areas of high pedestrian traffic.

Eventually, Sheppard said, the live feeds might be able to be sent to laptop computers installed in deputies’ cars so they can see the situation firsthand.

Similar systems have been successful in many cities across the country.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com