City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Right, right. Right, right. Well, that's not much.

But that's what I mean.

Good afternoon. Oh, good afternoon.

And welcome to our September meeting on public safety. All important matters are involved in this discussion, so we come together with an open heart and an open mind and we will behave in all courtesy and respect. There is a reason for that. It is a beautiful day. We have a number of serious discussions today. EHM, just a few, but they are important. So, we continue with the meeting and you, Ms. de Griffier, would you like to check the list of attendees and confirm the presence? Yes. Chairman, Council Member Skipio. I am present. Vice-Chairman, Council Member Hall. Present. Council Member Joyner.

Present.

And Council Member Andrew Bowen.

Here.

Fine. Council Members, we have one agenda item. The notes from our previous meeting. Are corrections needed? If not, then we will take a motion to approve.

Motion approved.

Second. All in favor? Aye.

We now have two general agenda points. Ms. de Grevier, would you be so kind as to read the first point?

Point G1 proposes to extend the youth protection order. Chief Commissioner Spender is our speaker.

Good afternoon, Chairman CPO, members of the Commission. I think I told you a few meetings ago that I would appear to you with the intention of asking you to extend the youth protection order. We go to the next slide, please. Something about what we have done and what we have experienced during the use of the ordinance. If you look to the left, you see the situation in the whole city. I know that many were worried that we would only focus on the center, but that point shows that we have had problems in the whole city. It shows where there were incidents where minors were accused and where minors were warned. I also want to ask you to look at the circle diagram. And if you look at the circle diagram, you will see that the time between 2 o'clock and 6 o'clock, the last part of the youth protection regulation, almost 50% of the young people we meet between 2 o'clock and 6 o'clock at night. It is about young people without supervision who walk through the community. It is also important to note that in each of the five incidents in which at least one minor was accused, the overturning of the evening clock was accompanied by at least one other complaint. In short, so far we have not accused any minors only for the ordinance. It was a combination with another complaint. This confirms my experience and the data confirm that young people who are outside at night without supervision are generally in trouble. Next slide, please. It is about the order on the protection of young people and when we first introduced it, we emphasized that it was not intended as a punishment measure, but precisely for the safety of our young people. What you see in the bar diagrams is the number of victims. From 2021 to 2026. The first diagram shows the number of minors between 6 o'clock and 2 o'clock in the afternoon. That's logical, isn't it? From 2 o'clock in the afternoon to 10 o'clock in the evening the children are out of school and then most of the young people become victims of one or the other crime. Then we look at the period from 10 o'clock in the evening to 6 o'clock, the hours on which our order is in force. And look in particular at the figures of 2025 and the significant decline in 2026 in the number of young people who have become victims of a crime. I can also tell you that in the graph of 2025 at least two of those victims were murdered. Although we have had a lot about violent crimes and why our young people are in considerable more danger in those hours, I would also like to point you to the point of NITSA. That reports that the number of fatal traffic accidents between 16 and 17 years of age nationally is five times higher between 10 o'clock in the evening and 6 o'clock in the morning compared to driving during the day. We are talking about the risk that our young people are committing, yes, violent crimes, but NITSA also says that driving at night creates a greater risk. And we are not just dealing with the enforcement of the law against abuse. We are offering means to help them. We have named our subgroup J-RISE, which stands for Juvenile Response, Intervention, Support and Engagement, Reaction, Intervention, Support and Interaction with Young People. This group goes to the house of the young people after a complaint or warning. They go to talk to the family. They ask, what problems do you see? What help sources do you need? And then there are our partners in the community, the Boys and Girls Club, the Des Heils Army, the Police Athletic League, the Selwyn Friends Community Center and the Greek YMCA of North Carolina. In short, I think the data will show that we are tackling a problem. I think that the data will show that we not only submit complaints, but also actually offer aid to the community. And although it is a small test, I think it shows that the regulation works. Keep in mind that it is only a momentary recording. So, if we could extend this ordinance to 1 November next year, that would give us the opportunity to include all seasons and periods in it, including Halloween, and determine whether this is the direction we want to continue to follow in the future.

Thank you, chef, for this report. A clarification on that comparison of six years. Those were local data, not national.

Those are local data. Yes, those are our data. Yes, madam, those are our... Okay.

And? What does explaining a warning to a minor exactly mean? What warnings did the young people you met receive?

The warning depends on where they are. If they are near the house, you say, hey, you have to go home. This is the order. Put the order out to the minors or bring them home and bring them to a responsible adult. Put the warning out to both the minors and the elderly.

En ik geloof dat we een aantal ouders hebben aangeklaagd. En wat waren enkele van die aanklachten?

Ja, het gaat om medeplichtigheid, medeplichtigheid en de verordening staat toe dat volwassenen worden aangeklaagd.

Nee, ze hebben geen straf gekregen.

Ik denk niet dat we er al voor de rechter over zijn geweest. But what I can tell you is that at least three to five of those parents plan to tell how the fact that they have been accused and that they have received help sources has been a good thing for their family.

And those help sources were, for example, from institutions where the children received activities or parental support after school time or after school time that they did not receive before.

Members of Parliament, I know that you are concerned, so let's take a look at that. Would you like to speak first, Scott?

Yes, thank you, thank you, Chief Commissioner Spender, for this presentation. I have a few questions on the occasion of your presentation. First of all, Ul, because you just said that you would like to see it in November next year. Yes, the ordinance says October next year. Is that it? Are you asking for a change or are we just going to look at October? Yes, yes. I think we just tried to clarify that during the committee meetings, to make it clear at the end of the month. The city attorney and others agreed that November 1 probably has more sense than the middle of the month, which is more logical. Okay, thank you.

So yes, the resolution does not seem to say that, but we would imagine that.

Okay, thank you. EHM, the J-Rise that you have there, I appreciate that. So, whatever happens to the ordinance, I would personally like to see it continue to exist, because I think it is a great source. EHM, a few questions. The districts you have summed up here, where exactly are they located? So that the community knows that. Okay, district 1 is mainly the northern part of the city. District 2 is the east and southeast. District 3 is the west side of Winston-Salem. And district 4 is the middle of the city, the south and west. Thank you very much. EHM, and then the next DIA. Chairman Scipio asked the question, but I wanted to double check something. The graph is about the crime rate, right? It's about the number of victims. Okay, thank you. And the point on the left is something very different. It's about traffic on a national level. Thank you, and yes. EHM, and what does the crime rate look like in the past six months? Maybe in the whole state and in the city in general, exclusively. Yes, just in general. I'll come back to that later regarding the state. What I can tell you is that we have seen a local decline in criminality, especially of the crimes of violence. My... Excuse me for that. Can you repeat that? My apologies. About the whole line. We have seen a decline in crimes of violence in Winston-Salem. Yes, of all crimes of violence. Okay, fine. Thank you. E.H.M., those are all the questions I have. E.H.M., again, that is my point of view. I voted against this the last time. I will now vote against it again. EHM, for me it is about the rights of those people. EHM, I want to support you in everything you need, but not at the expense of the rights of the people who would be affected by this. So I will vote against it.

Thank you, Chairman. Chief Commissioner, a few questions. EHM, if we look at that graph, and I know that we have two different pieces of information there. Five times higher under 16 and 17-year-olds between 10 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Yes. How is it with adults? Other age groups? Is the percentage different or does it seem to be higher at night? There.

I haven't looked at it. I think it's probably the same. But I can come back to that later.

I think so, but I would like to receive that information again. EHM, and looking at the other part of that graphic, EHM, any idea or EHM, comments on the decline in the number of incidents in 2024. Het leek te stijgen in 2021, 2022, 2023 en toen was er een daling in 2024.

Ja, en dan piept het weer omhoog in 2025.

EHM en... Omdat we iets goed hebben gedaan.

Ja, dus er ging wel iets goed in 2024, behalve dat het aantal incidenten dat jaar van 2 uur smiddags naar 10 uur avonds is gestegen en daarna weer is gedaald.

But the increase in the earlier period is less than the decrease in the later period.

Yes, that is something to note.

So if we come back to that, can we come back to that? As far as the means are concerned, I absolutely agree with my colleague that youth intervention is a great instrument. It seems logical. And things that are logical and that can help not only the young people, but also the parents and parents-in-law, are useful, because sometimes they just need a little help.

I agree.

If you look at the community funds, how many of those funds are there for weekend and evening activities?

So, I know that the Greek YMCA organizes a number of weekend activities from that group, and um, so out of my head is that the only one that shoots me in.

So, if we're talking about district 1, 2, 3 and 4, was that mainly like this, was it a bit spread like a nice cake glaze layer, from Sunday to Saturday, or was there a peak or a higher density of activities at a certain point?

Het was eigenlijk overal hetzelfde.

Oké.

Ja, net als de taart. En hou er rekening mee dat dit grotendeels de zomeruren waren, dus het was vrijwel overal hetzelfde.

We hebben geen weekendprogramma's. And given that, as you say, summer hours are, the school day takes a part of the energy of the students. The school itself is one of the things that ensures that they do not hang around on the street at four in the morning. But what do we have on the weekend? What are your suggestions? Since you are part of this, what is your solution or suggestion for a partner organization in the community that can help you with the rest?

Yes, yes. Well, I agree that we need more help from the community, especially from those who are against the regulation, to find ways to make our young people do something that is productive. Again, I am in this position because no one else is doing it. So we welcome everyone with ideas. I know that people are against it, but what can we do to keep the number of victims low? Yes, I'm all for it.

When does that work?

The police sport is active in the summer, but we also have events during the school year, only not in the evening.

Just like my colleague, in contrast to my colleague, I voted for this in June, but I find it unfair to just introduce a rule without doing anything about it. It is therefore not reasonable to limit a large part of our community for an indefinite period of time, given the America in which I would like to live. Ik wil graag in een veilige omgeving wonen, maar ook in een omgeving waar we voor elkaar zorgen en niet alleen maar regels opleggen. Daarom stem ik tegen. Dank u wel, voorzitter Odel, hoofdcommissaris Peen. Goedemiddag. Dank u voor de presentatie. I have a few questions about what was in the report and what was presented, and a few things that are not in it. I start with the first question that is not in it, and if you do not have the information today, I hope that someone from your team can request and submit. If we are talking about deadly traffic accidents, I assume that if teenagers are involved. Alcohol use by minors can also be a factor in these deadly accidents and incidents. I am curious about the numbers. Traffic deaths among teenagers in the periods we have discussed here, especially the national average. Ik zou dat graag willen weten. Wat zijn de lokale cijfers? Nogmaals, ik verwacht niet dat u die heeft en ik heb ze ook niet van tevoren gepresenteerd, maar ik ben benieuwd naar die cijfers.

Ik weet dat we er vorig jaar één hadden in 2025 en ik zou er zeker van gehoord hebben als we er ook één in 2026 hadden gehad, maar ik kom er later op terug.

Oké, dank u. En dat was tussen tien uur s'avonds en zes uur ochtends. Oké.

Mevrouw, goed.

And then another question, if you don't have it, that's not a problem, but I would like to have it before this topic is discussed in a council meeting. This question is about the parents who are accused on the basis of the circle diagram. EHM Tanya, could you or Jamie take a look at the circle diagram? Okay. EHM, so as far as the complaints against parents we see here, there are only a few, with a split per district. I'm curious how many of those accusations were against parents. History with the police had whether the accused was now the parent and whether the child had previously come into contact with the local police, especially the police, because of punishable facts. I also look at the bottom, printed in cursive, where it says that in each of the five incidents in which at least one minor was accused, the evening clock overturning coincided with an additional charge. So, although we don't go into that specifically, I'm curious if that was striking or if you just see this. People who had previously come into contact with the police.

I know the answer to the first question, at least five of the parents. Hadden al eerder contact met de politie gehad.

Oké.

En dan het puntje onderaan. Inwezen komt het erop neer dat elk van de minderjarigen die op basis van de verordening werden aangeklaagd, sowieso aangeklaagd zouden zijn, want wat ze die avond ook deden, daarvoor zouden ze ook aangeklaagd zijn.

Oké. Thank you for that. Thank you also for the question about the district. I appreciate that. That was one of the other points. I agree. A number of things that have been mentioned, especially about the programmes that we have for young people in this community. I have said that several times, on different microphones and sitting in this chair. I said it in the council room. I said it in this committee room. I say it again, I think that in the city of Winston-Salem we have the recreation and parks department, a department where I started my time at the city of Winston-Salem. EHM, so I understand how it is to be a recreation manager and to work with people who come to recreation centers. But I also know that our Recreation and Parks department has much more to offer, including activities for seniors of 55 years and older. I think it starts with senior games. So you don't have to be 65, you can also be 55 or a little younger. It is an important and unique moment, because in an hour we will talk about the programming of our Recreation and Parks department. I will also show them a few things. I appreciate that there is also information about the available supplies in the community. That is important. I don't think you all have to do this alone. Of course, there are people who need to get involved. EHM, I would like to see the list of community sources grow. And hopefully there will be, even after this conversation, more and more people who are in contact with the municipality, maybe even with the office of the city manager, and who may also be able to reach Ben Raul, who according to me is the ACM who is responsible for recreation and parks, to be able to offer extra help. EHM, what I want to say further, EHM, I think it may or may not be clear. I have voted twice against this ordinance for the protection of young people. And one of the reasons for that is not because I don't think there should be an evening bell. EHM, I have spoken to a number of people in the community. I have spoken to people who proudly wear the police insignia. EHM and I talked about, from a personal and professional point of view, what they thought of this evening clock. So I did research on that part. There were a few things that I thought we were rushing to work, and I didn't feel comfortable about that. I understand that there were a number of things going on and that the summer was still ahead of us. I appreciate all. The care that your department has provided by looking at other municipalities and how they dealt with the same problem. I appreciate that. There were indeed a number of concerns that came to me. Without the extension to 11 o'clock in the evening, which I know was part of the first conversations and the consideration of whether 10 o'clock in the evening or 11 o'clock in the evening was enough, I would choose 11 o'clock in the evening. Especially now that we are in the middle of the football season and young people want to party after the game when their team wins. Some teams don't win, but, uh, the same goes for things like football, basketball season, that kind of thing. And I know we're trying to do a few things to catch up on that. EHM, but I didn't feel so comfortable about it. EHM, I think that when we go to work in a hurry to get things done, we sometimes miss a crucial part, namely the feedback loop. So, uh, I got feedback from residents and residents with teens who found that they had to share their concerns with me. EHM, I also understand that there are people who may never make contact with me and will never know how they think about it. EHM, I also know that I, given my position, probably have the responsibility to discuss this and to step out and maybe just ask people in a general way, hey, what do you think of this, as I did before? EHM, this brings me to my next question, is this something for the manager's office, when are we going? Implementing this? I know that the deadline is approaching. So, is this on the agenda of the council to be discussed next Monday or is it the first Monday of October, Manager Page?

I think we should look at the scheme for the implementation. If there are two readings needed, then it may have to be dealt with during the first and second meeting. But at the moment I am quite sure that two readings are needed. We will check that later. If there are no two readings needed, it could be the first meeting of October.

Okay, thank you. That gives me the clarity I need, because... This gives us in any case the opportunity to invite the audience that will take place next Monday. So that's what I want to guarantee, so that people can express their opinion about this. EHM, and then another question, where is the Red Shield Center of the Des Heils Army?

So.

That's not.

Yes.

Yes. Which old what? The park?

Yes, yes, yes, madam.

Oh, okay. Good. I know exactly where that is, because I also thought of the one on the other side of Union Street. That's right, but I know they have a program there. Okay. Good, very good. Thank you. So, I'll actually... Well, you can see how I vote right away. But I appreciate that you answer this, but I will vote yes to get this in the municipal council and also so that we can hear from the people in the community what they think of the proposed change and how they have experienced the course of things so far. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. Again, me. I believe this works, but I don't feel comfortable saying that, unless we have more data. I think this recording will only last a few months. So your suggestion is to extend the evening clock to October next year, which will provide us with data for a whole year.

Yes, madam.

Ik ben nu verzorger van een veertienjarige jongen. Ik heb de mening van jongeren hierover gehoord. En eh, die verschilt niet veel van wat ik zelf dacht toen ik veertien was. Ik wil graag met mijn vrienden op pad. Ik wil gewoon ergens naartoe gaan. Kunnen we ergens rondhangen? En ik zeg dan, wat? Eh, dat is de vraag van mijn oma. But the children are very flexible. What they say is that they want to go somewhere and want to do something with their friends. It's not necessarily about time, because time is going to grow up. And try to be adult at your 14th, without boundaries, can bring you into the problems. Dat is gewoon de realiteit voor ons allemaal. Dus ik denk dat de... Maar ze hebben niet geklaagd. Avondklok wint. Zijn vrienden en hijzelf hadden geen klachten. Omdat ik zei, waarom? Omdat je met mij en een volwassene naar heel veel plekken kunt gaan. De avondklok beperkt kinderen niet. It only means that they have to be with someone who can guide them and help them to behave responsibly. And so we continued together all summer. And I think parents should understand that this is part of the protection of our children. And that's why I was for this evening clock, because not all parents are involved with their children. And with those parents the children are on the street at 6 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 2 o'clock at night. And I don't know anyone who thinks that's the best thing for a child. So this is, in my opinion, more of a challenge for parents to take their parental responsibility. Because young people can go anywhere with their parents or another adult at any time, as long as they do something legal. So I hope that we think and look at something else on how we are going to raise our children to be respectful adults. And if they are allowed to go somewhere alone without guidance, then I think that is the risk that our city is running. I agree that we have facilities in our recreation centers. I am not so sure that the children who are outside at 2 or 3 o'clock at night will go to the recreation center as an alternative. But I think it's good that we follow up with the parents and give them information, because some parents just don't know. So the proposal is to extend the youth protection ordinance. Until October 2027. So that's the proposal. Is there a motion to move on?

Madam Chairman, I propose that the proposal for extension of the Child Protection Regulation be approved.

Is er een tweede?

Ik steun het voorstel. Wie is voor? Ik. Wie is tegen?

Oké, ik keur het goed. Dank u wel. Iedereen die niet voor de motie is. Oké, dank u. We hebben dus een twee tot twee en ik neem aan dat er een punt van informatie is.

Ja. EHM, I wanted to ask if that, with that point of information, is still sufficient to send it to the council, which I tried to do to get it to the council.

Okay, yes, so we try to make sure that that is correct. I think an alternative is that the committee, if you want the opinion of the public to hear during our next meeting, just recommends that this goes to the council without the commission's recommendation. Okay?

That is. So I would have to review my motion.

U kunt kijken of uw mensen bij ons bereid zijn dat te doen, maar dat is een optie om onze. Ik denk dat 2 tot 2 eigenlijk zou kunnen betekenen dat het naar de raad gaat.

Er was geen aanbeveling, omdat u geen aanbeveling heeft.

Mevrouw French heeft een, dank u wel. Angel. Good afternoon. Chairman of the committee, members of the committee, I just wanted to say that it is going to the council anyway. It can only not be placed on the consent agenda. So it's going to the council anyway, but to get back to the point of manager page, if you want to withdraw your motion, you can do that, then it still goes without recommendation. It remains open for treatment by the entire council, right? Because no decision has yet been made here. It must anyway go to the council, regardless of the outcome of the committee vote. Is that clear? Yes, certainly. Thank you. My proposal remains the same. I just wanted to be sure that it went to the council, so that's fine.

We really can't allow an appeal from the public before we vote on it, right?

I think the commission means that you would like to appeal to the public before you vote.

Decision made. So at this moment we would have to talk to the public during the next meeting in September. And then, possibly in October, the decision-making will be presented to you.

But I think we need to clarify whether this will be an agenda item or not. Do you mean that you want to get it from the agenda and only want to use the meeting rounds? No, because we would have to hold two readings anyway. So, sorry, I don't want to interrupt, but my idea is to leave it on the agenda for September, for the interview round. Otherwise, in October, the second lecture should still be voted on. Do you understand what I mean? Yes, I understand. But that's not what I wanted. My vote would largely depend on what the audience has to say. So if we have the opportunity to hold two lectures in October and stay within the deadline of October, then...

I think I've heard what the council wants, that it's best not to put it on the next agenda. There will be an inquiry round, so that people can give their opinion about that agenda point. If the point is not on the agenda, they can give their opinion about what has been said. The proposal is accepted by the Commission with the intention that it will be approved during the first meeting in October. That would mean that a second reading is needed before it becomes possible, so we still have to find that out. I think it is the day of the second meeting.

From the Commission. Dat geeft een week tussen het einde van de huidige vergadering en de tweede. Er is ongeveer een week.

Dus mogelijk hebben we een week waarin het voorstel nog niet van kracht is of u kunt een speciale vergadering bijeenroepen voor een tweede lezing, ervan uitgaande dat de eerste lezing is aangenomen.

En we roepen die speciale vergadering in de zomer bijeen voor de tweede lezing.

Dat hebben we al eens eerder gedaan, dus ik denk dat er manieren zijn om de tweede lezing af te handelen.

Ik. Do you think the council should vote for or against it? So, do you think it's satisfactory that we hold an open meeting next week? The open meeting.

Right, but yes, in principle it would.

Not a reading, it would just be an open meeting. Right.

On the basis of the proposed proposal, this agenda point will return during the first council meeting in October. And then there will be a meeting next week. The public will have the opportunity to comment on the acceptance or rejection of this resolution or ordinance.

I think that's fine, except that I want to know how we're going to make sure that the public gets the opportunity to comment, or that they know that they have to come, because I think it will be difficult to get people who are for it. The keyword is Winston-Salem Journal. I'm sure they'll pick up this committee meeting. And I think that the police chief had already said during our previous meeting that this was coming and the evening clock will end next month anyway. So I think people already know what is going to happen, but I think people will be sure of it and will have the opportunity to give their opinion. Do you think that's fine? Yes, fine. So, uh, I lost count. We have now voted and it goes on.

Yes, madam.

Okay, everyone understands that.

Two against two, so that brings us further under the guidance you have given.

Okay, thank you. Then we can now go to point G2.

Point G2, update about camera technology and trust of the community. Assistant Chief Commissioner, Wilmès.

Is that better now? Yes, okay, my apologies for that. As I said, my name is Manny Gomez and I am the head of our office for criminal investigations. Over the past few months, you as council members have received requests and questions from the community about our camera system. We from the police have also received a number of questions. This has led us to publish a press release on the state of affairs with our cameras. Especially the flat cameras, which we always get questions about, are our approach. I think it was on request of the chairman of the Office for Criminal Investigation that we came forward to ensure that everyone knew where we were and to give some information about what we are doing here. Police department Winston-Salem. To answer the core question of this presentation, the police department has flat cameras. No, we don't have flat cameras. We are also not planning to buy flat cameras in the future. That is absolutely not our intention. So that answers that important question at the beginning. Om transparant te zijn, als u op internet zoekt naar politieafdeling Winston-Salem en vlakcamera's, vindt u... Documents, especially about our presentation to the municipal council and to the public. To understand that, it is important that we go back in time so that everyone understands it well. In 2022, the police department of Winston-Salem began investigating the possibilities of identification recognition technology. At the time, we thought we would choose VLAG. We presented to the municipal council our plans for 25 identity recognition systems of FLAC. Then we organized a webinar for the public, where we answered the questions of the public. We explained to them the general legislation of North Carolina, including the limitations that apply to it. North Carolina was far ahead in this. They have adopted a general law that limits the use of these cameras to only criminal investigation and investigation of missing persons, not for traffic accidents such as speed accidents or the denial of parking. We have explained all this to the public and answered all general questions. In January 2023 we returned to the municipal council. The council then approved the purchase of 25 flat cameras. After that approval, during the negotiations with VLAQ, we did not reach a mutually acceptable agreement, so we never signed the contract with VLAQ. We never received and never installed those 25 cameras. So, as the situation is now, and I repeat it again, the police code of Winston-Salem does not use a VLAQ camera system. It is therefore important to understand what we do, use, what we use for CADA and Axon. These fall under the general law of North Carolina, which only applies to criminal investigation and missing persons. They are not intended for traffic accidents. They are not for personal use. They are exclusively intended for criminal investigation and that is stated in the general law. That is not something we, the General Assembly of North Carolina, have decided. We also have a policy that is very restrictive when it comes to when we can use them. We follow the general law of North Carolina to ensure that we meet it. You see the following point above, access. Who has access to this program? Not the entire police corps has access. We have assigned personnel who have followed a training and have access to these programs, so that we can distribute information and ensure that we meet the general law when we distribute this information. Finally, control. How do we control this information? You have seen in the media that these systems are often linked to national networks and that everyone has access to the information. That is where we significantly distinguish ourselves from most other systems. Systems. We own our own data and we control our own data. No one has access to our data, except employees of the Winston-Salem Police who have access to the system. Okay, that's an important distinction, I think. Even our local partners in the Piedmont Triad do not have access to this information. What they do have access to is the request for information. As soon as they meet the general legal requirements with regard to the type of research they have, they submit that information to us. We check whether they meet the general legal requirements and at that moment we distribute that information so that they can carry out their criminal investigation or investigation into missing persons. We have booked a lot of success with this kind of tools. We have found missing persons and quickly reunited them with loved ones. We have also solved murders, violent crimes and a large number of stolen vehicles with the help of this technology. One of the other questions we received recently was about our fusion system and our Community Connect program. There are two possibilities within our physical system. One of them is for citizens and one of them is our business community. I start with what we call registration. We ask our partners in the community, or our residents, to register their cameras. In principle, we collect the name, address and whether they have a security system in their home. We do not get access to that system and cannot receive live images of them. What we can do is that if a crime takes place in a certain community and we have a number of registered people in that community, we can electronically send the request to the location where they have registered, whether that is an email address or a phone number. We send them a link with the text, there has been an incident in your neighborhood for a certain period. Please send us all the videos you have. Or we can give them some information. The residents then go to their system, select what is relevant and send it to us. Registration and sending the information is completely voluntary. We have had a lot of success with this specific program, especially when you look at the manpower and how quickly this is done compared to leaving a whole neighborhood, from door to door and checking whether people are at home. So it has been very successful for us. The second part of this program is integration, right? We ask our companies to integrate their cameras. This is a live feed that we can watch as police. There are different parameters that can be set. Some companies only want to see the outside of their company. Some want both the inside and outside. Or some want the images to be activated depending on the type of crime. We have access to both or one or two of those options. Again, they choose to share the information with us. It is a voluntary program. We do not force anyone to participate. The vast majority of the people who share their cameras choose the community-oriented approach. So, when they become victims, we have direct information that we can pass on to our agents, so that we can come to a successful solution to the crime, whether it happens now live or later in the investigation. Onze partners delen deze camera's graag met ons. dit is volledig vrijwillig en dat is wanneer we toegang hebben. Dit zijn dus de twee belangrijkste manieren waarop we met onze gemeenschap samenwerken en waarop we onze inwoners en bedrijven vragen zich bij ons te registreren, zodat we de wetshandhavingsdiensten kunnen leveren die we leveren. The other question about our Phusis platform was, how safe is it? What security measures have they taken? When I contacted the company, it turned out that no known data leaks had been reported since 2 September 2026. That was the moment I contacted the company. As you can see below, the encryption, the guaranteed control, all these things are in principle IT aspects of their security, which probably means a lot for a security professional. But I am not an IT expert, so I will not start there, except that I know that they meet the Criminal Justice Information Standard, the standard that applies in the United States. That is a much higher standard than the traditional access via GovCloud, so they meet all those standards. So that is what we are currently doing at the police in Winston-Salem, and I would like to answer your questions.

Are there any more questions? Council member Kat, thank you, Madam Chairman. Thank you for this presentation and for the communication we have had over the past few months. I have a few questions. So, are there flat cameras nearby?

Yes.

And who are they from? I know the answers to these questions, so I ask the audience.

Yes, certainly. It is important that our community knows that there are flat cameras in the city of Winston-Salem. Bedrijven kunnen deze camera's kopen, verenigingen van huiseigenaren, VVE's, kunnen ze kopen, noem maar op. Als je een camera wilt kopen, kun je ze kopen. Je ziet ze dus overal in Winston-Salem, bij een universiteit, een particulier bedrijf, een VVE, noem maar op. Als je het geld hebt om een camera te kopen, kun je er een kopen.

If a company has a relationship with VLAQ and a crime is committed on their site, do you then ask to see the images of that VLAQ camera?

Yes, so if there has been a crime in that area, we will do that. It would of course be negligent. It would be unwise to have evidence for us and then deny it, especially when it concerns a certain victim, right? Yes, that would be negligence if we did not use our means. Agreed.

And then you have... Insight into the concerns that many citizens have about VLAQ? Do you have access to certain aspects of VLAQ that have to do with those companies?

We would go to the companies and ask for access. There are ways we can get that access, but it is very limited to a small number of employees. Intern hebben we een zeer robuust systeem waarmee we audits uitvoeren op onze eigen interne systemen, maar we zijn geen gebruikers en hebben geen toegang tot die systemen als gebruiker. Die systemen zijn van iemand anders.

Prima, nu de vraag waar ik het antwoord niet op weet. Op pagina 2 hadden we het over toegang en dat andere instanties een formeel en aan de zaak gekoppeld verzoek moeten indienen. How does that look like?

Yes, we have a way to control all this information. We have to be able to keep all this information, right? So we have a form that has been generated, but the general legislation does not really give guidelines on how we should do this. It only says that you must comply with these standards and then you can process this kind of information. We usually go further than what the general legislation demands of us. So we have a form on which we ask these questions and we ask the office to fill it in, or our analysts on the other side, who know that they are responsible for securing this information, ask for that information so that we ensure that it is validated and meets the criteria.

Thank you, I'm done. Member of Parliament.

And thank you, Chairman Scipio. I have another question, and it might be more of a confirmation or fuses. The system is that we use for some of our cameras in municipal buildings and parks. Is that correct? Can you confirm that?

Yes, madam, yes. So we connect a number of cameras to a number of government cameras from Winston-Salem and other government agencies, business partners and anyone who wants to share their cameras. It's not about cameras from individuals. We import them via fuses.

And then you can, if something happens at one of these locations or in a park, zoom in and share the same images with the research center or with researchers, or whoever, to solve any possible cases.

Yes, madam, I think it is also important to emphasize that we do not change the way we conduct legislation with these videos. We only speed up the process. We use the available technology to record the videos. In the old-fashioned way, we went to the location, recorded the video and carried out the same kind of research. Thank you, yes, madam.

I know this is always a point of care for the public. But I'm glad that we and the police made the decision a few years ago not to use the old cameras anymore. And now we have a better way. System, EHM, and that should reassure people. I didn't know that the business was feed live.

Yes, madam.

So you can follow them in real time.

They can choose whether it is live or static, until a crime takes place that activates the live feed. And I want to make use of the opportunity to ask our companies and our residents to register their cameras with us. How do we do that? You can go to connect.ws.org or connect.winstonsalem.org and you can register it there, or they can contact the police via the real-time crime center and we will guide them through that process.

NEHM once mentioned an incident where our technology has been an important tool for us.

Yes, I'm going to tell you about an incident where the media helped us to bring this incident out. We had a mother, NEHM, her son. Has autism. He left the house last night. Three hours later, we had put in all possible means. Thanks to this technology, we were able to find these young people with autism in the center, who walked around there. Without this technology, the mother would have thought that the child was near her house. He was 16 kilometers from home. Toen we de jongeren hadden gevonden en hem terugbrachten naar zijn moeder, kon ze niet wachten om contact op te nemen met de lokale nieuwszender om haar verhaal te delen en de lof te zingen van het Realtime Misdaad Centrum en wat we doen. We kunnen nog een voorbeeld noemen. We hebben talloze voorbeelden van succesvolle oplossingen voor zowel strafzaken als vermissingszaken. Ja, mevrouw.

But you know, that's what I really know about our police corps and what the municipal council has done for you in recent years. You provide various tools to keep our community safe. And I will advertise shamelessly for all residents who worry about how our police corps is doing in Winston-Salem. They should register for the Police Academy for Residents. You get a look behind the scenes at many of the fantastic tools they use to solve crimes in our community. So I also ask our council members, if you have not done so yet, to please do so. It is very enlightening and enlightening to walk through it and learn more about it. So thank you for this update. If there are no other questions,

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Adjunct Chief Commissioner Gomez, and thanks to our police corps for the reaction of the employees. Oh yes, reaction of the employees. Sorry, I was just busy with the reactions.

Good afternoon. A few more updates on the plans for the next meeting of the Public Safety Commission in October. We have an information point from the office for disaster prevention. August Furnan will give an update. And the fire department will put a fireman in the sun. He is selected for a taskforce for the entire state. More information follows, but I already wanted to let you know what is on the agenda for the next meeting. Thank you. And I would like to greet the fire department of Winston-Salem. You were not on the agenda today, but you will always remain in our hearts. Just like the men in blue. And also the people in red and the women. Thank you, thank you. This concludes this meeting.