ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607050101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MOUNT SIDNEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
Carload after carload, they unload in front of the old Mount Sidney Town Hall building - antique seekers ready to shop.
But instead of musty rooms full of old stuff, they find state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. Scott and Teresa Cline converted the former antique store into First Witness Video Surveillance Systems in April.
``We get an awful lot of people who think we're an antique dealer,'' Cline said.
Dark shades cover the window, the wood slats are painted black, police frequent the place, and some neighbors have been curious, he said.
``There's an old lady across the street who's asked what police are doing here all the time. `Are they selling crack there?''' he said. ``We kind of picked this place for a reason. With all the equipment here, we don't want a lot of walk-in traffic.''
Cline, a former Waynesboro police narcotics officer, saw a need to develop surveillance cameras for drug busts several years ago. He also developed a small camera system when he was part of a state police drug task force.
So Cline decided to put the technological acumen he had used to fight crime to commercial use. He started a small business out of his home in Staunton.
As the business grew rapidly, Cline left the police force about 18 months ago to run the business full time. He and his wife have two full-time employees.
``It kept expanding and expanding,'' Cline said of First Witness, which serves 24 clients.
Cline said the company grosses more than seven figures a year catering to those inclined to do electronic sleuthing.
One way is with tiny cameras. They can be placed in clock radios, teddy bears and house plants. Law enforcement agencies can place a camera, the size of a quarter, in a hotel room, for example.
The lens is several millimeters in diameter, but it's able to detect its environment through a pinhole. It's connected to a small color monitor.
First Witness constructs ready-to-wear surveillance, too, with a complete video and audio body wire system. Night vision goggles and rifle scopes also are available.
LENGTH: Short : 48 linesby CNB