Greensboro Police Foundation Donates Mobile Video Trailers
GREENSBORO, N.C. (October 17, 2023) – The Greensboro Police Foundation is proud to announce that it has donated two mobile video trailers (MVT) to the Greensboro Police Department (GPD), a gift worth $54,000. The MVTs are self-contained camera platforms that can be deployed anywhere. They take up as much room as a parking space, and do not require an external power source due to their solar panels. The camera mast can be raised and lowered, and has four cameras that have pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities. Each MVT can monitor hundreds of square feet of area.
The Greensboro Police Department plans to deploy the MVTs at large outdoor crowd events such as the Folk Festival and the Fun Fourth event. The video footage will be fed to the GPD’s Real-Time Intelligence Center, where it can be shared throughout the department. Lieutenant RB Todd, Executive Officer of the Information and Analysis Division of the GPD, explained that the MVT’s benefit the department in three ways. First, they help the officers police smarter. Now more than ever, officers are using technology to solve problems. The MVTs also help with the staffing shortages which have been impacting the department in recent months. One MVT can take the place of several officers on foot at a large outdoor event. Finally, the MVTs can serve as a deterrent. The presence of an MVT demonstrates that a community cares about and is making an investment in a particular location. While not everyone is deterred, many would-be criminals see a camera and make a different choice.
Lieutenant Todd added, “The MVTs provided by the Police Foundation will be incredibly helpful for the overall operations of our agency, as well as the safety and security of the residents we serve. This equipment provides us with the agility to deploy a visual feed, in real time, to our officers working festival events, dignitary visits, or to simply add enhanced security where we might not always have the personnel to deploy. Video footage and real time visuals of events have become critical to the work we do every day, and the MVTs allow us the opportunity to establish that intelligence where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Technology is rapidly evolving, and a gift such as this certainly helps us to adapt, as well, and continue our commitment to smart and modern policing.”
The Greensboro Police Foundation purchased the two MVTs from Reconview, a security solutions company based in Charlotte, NC. The MVTs were delivered in late September, and have already been deployed by the Greensboro Police Department.