Venture Meets Mission
Flock Safety took an interesting path toward constructing an easy button for the government
Flock Safety took an interesting path toward constructing an easy button for the government. Founded in 2017, this Atlanta-based technology surveillance company began by selling automated license plate recognition technology to neighborhood associations. These associations, who were trying to maintain the safety of their neighborhoods, found utility in the ability of Flock’s cameras to track vehicles coming in and out of neighborhoods.
Whether for vandalism or theft, Flock’s technology can quickly and objectively identify a suspect’s vehicle—and if a crime does occur, Flock can alert law enforcement. Eventually, the Flock product had utility in other residential and commercial settings, including both schools and businesses. However, they identified the ability of their product to solve a major issue for law enforcement: crime deterrence and response time.
Andreessen Horowitz notes that “the majority of crimes in the U.S. go unresolved” and “only 46% of violent crimes are fully resolved and that number is staggeringly low (17%) for property crime.”
Using the objectivity of their system, Flock could detect and deliver valuable crime leads to local law enforcement officials. For example, after only two months with the Flock system, the police department in Wichita, Kansas, recovered fifty-six stolen license plates and returned $1.1 million in stolen property. Flock’s latest product serves to aid in local law enforcement’s mission even more: a gunshot audio detector.
One of the earliest customers in Flock technologies in Atlanta put it best: “Flock is the single most effective tool we have ever used.” Quite simply, Flock Safety was able to build the government’s easy button by reimagining their product’s usage in the public sector.
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