Carol Van Zandt Jones ’83 believes that her 15 years as a stay-at-home mom may have been as much of an investment in her career as her time in TCU classrooms. While raising her children, she organized events at church, school and the community and gathered experience bringing multiple entities together for a common goal.

She put all that volunteer experience to use when she joined Virtual Surveillance two years ago and then saw a new angle for the cutting-edge security technology.

Her abstract idea for using the surveillance equipment gave birth to Community Links, and Virtual Surveillance made it happen. A web interface links surveillance systems in Deep Ellum with the police department, and businesses offer access to their cameras to the Dallas Police Department as a resource. Officers can view live or archived video remotely from their computer screens and PDAs. With live video, police can respond faster to a crime scene or anticipate a crime.

Last Jan. 1, Virtual Surveillance installed systems in three locations in Deep Ellum, and the crime rate was reduced 50 percent compared to the previous year. They’re now working on broader options for application of the system.

“After being a stay-at-home mom, here I am working with some of the most cutting-edge technology in surveillance and for police departments,” she said. “The guys in the office thought I was really nuts. The police thought it was a great idea.”