Forsyth County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Forsyth County.
Technology presence
What these categories mean
- ALPR
- Automated license plate readers (ALPR): camera systems that automatically capture, read, and log vehicle license plates with location and time, producing a searchable record of vehicle movements.
- Fixed cameras & RTCC
- Agency-operated fixed video cameras and the real-time crime centers (RTCC) that aggregate live and recorded feeds for monitoring. Extends the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas, which enumerates real-time crime centers and camera registries but not standalone fixed-camera estates.
- Face recognition
- Software that matches faces in images or video against a reference database to identify or verify individuals.
- Drones / UAS
- Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones, operated by an agency for overhead observation, imaging, or sensing.
- Gunshot detection
- Networks of acoustic sensors that detect and locate suspected gunfire and alert an agency.
- Body-worn & dashcam
- Officer body-worn and in-vehicle dashboard cameras that record encounters; public access to the footage is frequently restricted.
- Doorbell & camera registry
- Programs that give an agency access to privately owned camera footage: doorbell-camera partnerships, citizen camera registries, and private-camera integration platforms.
- Cell-site simulators
- Devices that mimic cell towers to locate or identify nearby mobile phones. They are often called Stingrays, or IMSI catchers after the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number that identifies each phone on a network. Adjacent: communications surveillance outside the visual/sensor core.
- Predictive policing
- Software that forecasts where crime may occur or who may be involved, to direct policing. Adjacent: analytics rather than a sensing deployment.
- Social-media monitoring
- Tools that collect and analyze public social-media activity for an agency. Adjacent: open-source/communications monitoring outside the visual/sensor core.
The record, by agency
Winston-Salem Police Department
The Winston-Salem Police Department launched a drone as first responder program in 2025.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WFMYTriad City Beat
The Winston-Salem Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Triad City BeatWinston-Salem Police Department
The Winston-Salem Police Department had a yearlong contract for 25 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Triad City Beat
The Winston-Salem Police Department operates a real-time crime center using Fusus software.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): FususCity of Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem Police Department utilized ShotSpotter as of 2021.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Winston-Salem
The Winston-Salem Police Department maintains a registry of private surveillance cameras using Fusus software.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Winston-SalemCity of Winston-Salem
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office operated drones as of 2024.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): WFMYCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.wxii12.com
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office maintains a camera registry via Flock Safety. Previously, the agency utilized the Fusus camera registry system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): County of ForsythForsyth County
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office utilizes the Fusus real-time crime center platform.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fusus
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office purchased 16 Axon body-worn cameras in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): FOX 8Forsyth County Commissioners Office
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office uses automated license plate readers, according to a November 2022 Winstom-Salem Journal report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Winston Salem Journal
Kernersville Police Department
The Kernersville Police Department uses automated license plate readers, according to a November 2022 Winstom-Salem Journal report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Winston Salem Journal
The Kernersville Police Department utilizes the Fusus camera registry.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Kernersville Police Department
Wake Forest University Police Department
The Wake Forest University Police Department uses automated license plate readers, according to a November 2022 Winstom-Salem Journal report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Winston Salem Journal
Winston-Salem State University Police Department
The Winston-Salem State University Police Department uses automated license plate readers, according to a November 2022 Winstom-Salem Journal report.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Winston Salem Journal
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026