Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting - December 8, 2025
Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting - December 8, 2025
The Public Safety Committee of the City of Winston-Salem met on December 8, 2025, at 2:00 PM in the City Hall, 101 North Main Street, to discuss and act on several items, including a vehicle management program, a major technology contract renewal, and a bloodhound acquisition. The meeting was chaired by Council Member Annette Scippio and attended by Council Members Regina Hall, Vivián V. Joiner, and Scott Andree-Bowen. The meeting adjourned at 3:39 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (C-1): The committee unanimously approved the summary minutes from the October 13, 2025, Public Safety Committee meeting. (Motion by Hall, second by Andree-Bowen, 4-0).
Discussion Items
G-1: Resolution Approving the Vehicle Management Solutions Program (VMS)
Captain Amy Gauldin of the WSPD and Alan Braisher, Vice President of VMS, presented a program to digitize and expedite the dispatch of tow trucks for police-related incidents (collisions or safety hazards). Key features include a citizen website to locate towed vehicles, real-time tracking, and reduced radio traffic for dispatchers. The program is funded by a $43.75 administrative fee per tow (paid by the citizen or insurance company) and a $50 increase in the existing tow fee (to $268.75 normal hours, $293 after hours). There is no cost to the city; the city continues to receive $10 per tow from tow companies. The committee voted unanimously to recommend approval, with the resolution referred to the full City Council on January 5, 2026. (Motion by Hall, second by Joiner, 4-0).
G-2: Update on the Winston-Salem Police Department's Axon Technology Contract Renewal
Assistant Chiefs Jose E. Gomez and Christopher Diamont presented a proposal to consolidate three existing Axon contracts into a single 10-year agreement with an annual cost of $4.3 million (up from the current $1.7 million). The package includes new body-worn cameras, Taser 10, drones, ALPR, evidence.com storage, AI-assisted report writing (Draft One), translation services (over 150 languages), and a new records management system to replace a 27-year-old system. The 10-year price is locked in with a $26 million discount through bundling, and includes hardware refreshes every two years. The city manager, Pat Pate, clarified that the request is for a letter of intent with a non-appropriation clause, meaning the final decision will be made during the FY 2026-27 budget process. Council members expressed concerns about the 10-year commitment and cost, but the committee agreed to move forward with the intent to sign, allowing the rate to be locked in. No formal vote was taken; consensus was reached to proceed.
G-3: Winston-Salem Police Department Bloodhound Acquisition
Captain Chris Phillips introduced Bocephus, a bloodhound acquired for $10,000 through a partnership with the Winston-Salem Police Foundation, the AKC Reunite program, and the Forsyth Kennel Club. Bocephus is trained for scent discrimination to track high-risk missing persons, including children and vulnerable adults. The dog is on call 24/7 and has already assisted neighboring counties. The city incurs no direct cost for the dog; food is donated. The bloodhound is expected to serve about six years. Committee members welcomed Bocephus and thanked the Police Foundation.
Holiday Safety Presentations
- Police Department (Captain George Jenkins): Provided tips on home security (lock doors, use timers), shopping safety, avoiding package theft, and recognizing scams.
- Fire Department (Chief Trey Mayo): Advised on Christmas tree freshness (cut and place in water immediately), space heater safety (3 feet clearance, tip-over shutoff), cooking fire prevention (stand by your pan), and lithium-ion battery hazards (use recommended chargers, don't charge in egress paths, dispose properly).
Key Outcomes
- VMS Program: Committee recommended approval; referred to City Council on January 5, 2026.
- Axon Contract: Committee agreed to proceed with a letter of intent with a non-appropriation clause, locking in the proposed 10-year pricing for budget consideration.
- Bloodhound: Information only; no action required.
- Holiday Safety: Information shared with the public.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Well, welcome to our December Public Safety Committee meeting. The last one for this year. And what a marvelous year we have had. Chief, I think we were gonna try to have a year without any incidences. We'll try it again next year. Okay. That's our new year resolution. Thank you. Um Madam Clerk, would you just uh announce our committee members? Chairperson Chair Person, Councilmember Scipio. I'm here. Vice Chair, Councilmember Hall. Here. Councilmember Joyner. Present. And Councilmember Andrew Bowen. Here. Thank you very much. We have an exciting agenda for today. It's so exciting. And we're going to begin with a special announcement by our city attorney. Turney French. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, members of the council. I just wanted to take a um point of privilege to introduce our new public safety attorney who's been hired. Um, William Glaskoff, who is here, if he will stand and be recognized. Um, will comes to us from the magistrate's office having been there for about 18 years, I believe. 15 give or take. Um, and um well known by um our police department, and we are delighted to have him join us um in our public safety area. Um he and Pridging Green will continue to provide um great support to our public safety staff. So I just wanted to introduce him at the committee just to this afternoon. Welcome, welcome, welcome to our phenomenal legal department here at the city of Winston Salem. Always trying to keep everybody doing the right thing at the right time. What a challenge you have ahead of you. This afternoon we have one consent agenda, and we have three general items. Um committee, um push your pleasure on the consent agenda. Move to approve item C one. Second. Thank you. All in favor. So our agenda, our consent agenda has been approved, and those are just our minutes from the last meeting. We'll try right now, general item one. Item G1 resolution approving the vehicle management solutions program. And that presentation will be all right. Good afternoon, Chair Scipio, members of the committee. Amy Golden with the police department, and we're here before you to share a program that we've identified, vehicle management solutions program, which will have significant significant impact on our service delivery regarding the record dispatch services that the police department is responsible for managing the program for. And what that involves a program that we currently manage is any record requests in connection with vehicle accidents or vehicles that pose a safety hazard on our roadways. And so this program is managed by our Toliaison, Sergeant Ben Christian, who's here with me as well. Uh, and we've worked in in identifying the solution to help us enhance our service delivery and the safety of our community and citizens as well as officers.
openpublica.com