The Duluth Police Department is looking for residents to help with their Virtual Patrol program.
Virtual Patrol lets trained community volunteers help the department monitor live surveillance videos and flag potential criminal activity for officer response. The program has been in place since 2017.
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Local businesses share their surveillance feeds with the Duluth Police Department, and the department plays those feeds on screens in their headquarters. There are about 100 cameras that feed videos to the control centers where volunteers work.
Officers do similar monitoring work, but volunteers allow more officers to conduct street patrols or otherwise work in the city instead of the office.
“We need to keep all of these officers on the road to keep the entire city as safe as it has been all of these years,” the program’s online description says.
Volunteers can work two-hour shifts multiple times a week; there is no requirement for how often volunteers must work. Volunteers must be 18 or older and live in the city of Duluth. They must also pass Georgia Crime Information Center and Suspicious Activity Reporting courses.
The department is seeking more volunteers to participate in an upcoming training session. The April 25 training lasts from 6 to 9 p.m. and will be held at the department’s headquarters at 3276 Buford Highway.
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