Public Safety Wins, When the Industry Works Together

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In Summary:

• Open ecosystems, not backroom deals, are critical to public safety
• We hope Axon will commit to serving public safety at no additional cost
• We’re expanding our API set for all our hardware, to all customers, at no cost
• We all need to be stewards of data integrity and respect democratically defined data retention policies
• We invite all vendors to join us in our commitment to collaboration

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The term "open" is thrown around a lot in the public safety technology sector. But what does it really mean? We've seen some vendors claim to be open while actually cutting off data access or sunsetting it after a few months. Some vendors claim open means that their competitors need to give away proprietary technology. All of this creates confusion.  

We are defining a truly open ecosystem for public safety and outlining our commitment to community partnerships, which includes a consistent approach to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), as well as ensuring we protect the integrity of all data as is expected by, and promised to, communities across the country. APIs are the foundation of any open system, enabling seamless communication between different technologies.

But first, I want to admit that we haven't always gotten this right. We acknowledge that in the past, we engaged in practices that weren't truly open. We made an exclusive partnership with Axon that gave preferential treatment to their customers. In hindsight, we think there is a better way.

We’ve heard from enough law enforcement officers directly that true interoperability is more critical than backroom deals. Now, we've committed to changing that, and we hope all other vendors, including Axon, commit to changing that, too.

I believe public safety wins when the industry works together.

What’s in a Partnership?

Let me start by clarifying the nature of the partnership with Axon and what did Axon dissolving it actually mean.

Years ago, we entered into an exclusive partnership with Axon, which allowed a few things:

• Flock would process Fleet 3 footage from Axon, applying our patented Vehicle Fingerprint technology and making it available for customers to search inside Flock
  • Axon lacked both computer vision for vehicle details beyond the license plate and a search experience for ALPR data
• Flock provided ALPR alerts to Axon mutual customers
• Axon provided telemetry from Bodyworn and Fleet 3 cameras to Flock mutual customers
• Axon provided an API to support pushing Flock LPR reads into Evidence.com
• These integrations would incur no cost to our mutual customers

That’s actually all the partnership established - data exchanges from Flock and Axon’s core hardware products at no cost to customers. And as we announced during a recent product launch, we’re making all of our core APIs, plus some expanded functionality available to all our customers, even those who use competitive technology, at no cost. So this partnership that Axon dissolved ends up meaning basically nothing to our customers.

We’d encourage Axon to consider making the same commitment to public safety and make APIs for all their products available to customers at no cost, even customers who use competitive technologies.

Customers should be the ones to pick their partners, not their vendors.

Expanding Our API Set at No Cost for Customers

We believe that true openness means providing accessible core APIs for all vendors, not just a select few. All of our hardware products will have APIs available - LPR, video, gunshot detection, and drones, like:

• Device Location - Displaying the location and details of LPR, Video, and Gunshot Detection Flock devices for a customer in a third party platform.
• LPR Hotlist Alerts - Receiving alerts in another platform when a customer’s Flock LPR captures a vehicle that’s on a hotlist tracked in Flock.
• LPR Custom Hotlist Management - Creating and updating custom hotlists in Flock from other systems to help automate workflows.
• LPR Search - Querying license plate captures done by a customer’s Flock LPR devices owned by a customer for a certain license plate, time range, and geographical area.

This commitment to accessible APIs is reflected in the breadth of integrations we offer. We're talking about both ingesting data into our open FlockOS platform, and making Flock data interoperable in 3rd party applications, like:

• CAD systems: Seamlessly connect Flock data with leading Computer-Aided Dispatch systems like Mark43 and Tyler Technologies, allowing for streamlined dispatch, enhanced situational awareness, ALPR alerts in dispatch, and improved response times.
• Evidence and Data platforms: Integrate with platforms like Forcemetrics, LiveEarth, and ThinkLP to centralize evidence, enhance data analysis, and gain deeper insights into crime trends.
• Real-time Software: Integrate with real-time crime centers and platforms like Command Central Aware by Motorola, Citigraf by Genetec, Prepared 911, Straxx by Utility Inc., and yes, even Fusus by Axon, to enhance collaboration and provide officers with real-time information in the field.

These integrations and many more are crucial for breaking down information silos and ensuring that critical data is available when and where it's needed most. By making these integrations accessible at no cost, we're reemphasizing our commitment to an open public safety technology ecosystem—one that prioritizes agency collaboration, data security, transparency, and community trust.

We believe that agencies should have the freedom to choose the tools that best meet their needs and integrate them seamlessly. We challenge other vendors to do the same. Ask your vendors: Do they allow you to freely integrate all their products with other systems? True openness shouldn't be a privilege; it should be the standard.

Standard Agreements: Ensuring Data Integrity

We're also committed to standard agreements that ensure data integrity and respect democratically defined data retention policies. These agreements with the cities, counties, and states with whom we operate will be transparent and accessible, with a goal of fostering trust and accountability. We understand that data security and privacy are paramount concerns, and we're committed to upholding the highest standards in the industry.

And that leads us to one of the biggest areas of confusion around data. Who owns it and who is responsible for its integrity? The answer, unequivocally, is the community. Not Flock, not even the individual police department. As the custodian of this data, we have a responsibility to help law enforcement uphold the standards set by the thousands of city, county, and state stakeholders who voted for data retention limits, sharing limits, auditing rules, and transparency. In court, Flock testifies to the integrity of the data. This integrity is eroded when third parties disregard what the community has democratically voted upon.

Moving Forward: A Commitment to Openness

Flock is committed to building a truly open and collaborative ecosystem for public safety. We’re willing to integrate with all vendors, even competitors, and believe that by prioritizing data integrity, fostering seamless integration (including no-cost access to our core APIs for all), and treating all partners equally, we can empower communities and create a safer future. We're no longer playing favorites. We're open for collaboration. We believe this is the only way forward for public safety technology. We invite other vendors, even the biggest ones, to join us in this commitment to openness and collaboration.

Together, we can build a safer future for all.