Charlotte, N.C., Residents Add Cameras to Police Network
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Connect Charlotte program now includes over 2,000 resident and business cameras, with 1,363 livestream‑enabled cameras. Residents can register cameras for free, while businesses may grant live‑feed access. Police use the network to locate suspects, verify threats, and support investigations in real time. The department emphasizes encrypted data and limited internal access to protect privacy.
Connecticut Community Voices Concern Over Flock Safety Data
Norwalk police chief James Walsh defended the city’s 11 Flock Safety license‑plate cameras, noting a 45% drop in stolen vehicles since their 2023 installation. He highlighted 28 recovered stolen cars and said the system deters property crime. Community members, however,...
Drones Join Police Helicopters in Los Angeles’ Skies
The Los Angeles Police Department deployed drones more than 3,500 times in 2024, with half arriving before officers and helping cancel unnecessary units. A $1.2 million donation will fund an expansion from nine to 24 drones, adding launch pads across five...
Pennsylvania County Nets $100K Grant for Bodycams
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, will receive roughly $107,000 in state funding to purchase body‑camera hardware for its prison and sheriff’s office. The grant comes from the Local Share Account Fund administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development under the...
Under Scrutiny, Flock Safety Debuts Automatic Auditing Tool
Flock Safety, a supplier of license‑plate‑reading and drone surveillance tools, unveiled Audit Assistance, an automated compliance feature within its Trust and Compliance suite. The tool continuously monitors system activity and flags search patterns that deviate from an agency’s typical usage,...
Maps, Cameras Help Redlands, Calif., Prep for Wildfires
The Redlands Fire Department is scaling up its wildfire mitigation program for the 2026 season, increasing treated acreage to 80 acres and allocating roughly $1.1 million annually. New measures include surveillance cameras, Esri GIS mapping, and a revived partnership with Cal Fire’s...
Opinion: Drones Are Making Colorado Springs, Colo., Safer
Colorado Springs reported a 28% drop in homicides and a 42% plunge in auto theft between 2024 and 2025, outpacing the state average by eight points. Police attribute the gains to a focused anti‑theft unit, tougher state penalties, and advanced...
Orbiting Space Junk Poses Threat to GPS, Satellites
Space debris now exceeds 45,000 trackable objects, weighing about 9,000 metric tons, and threatens a cascade of collisions known as the Kessler effect. Recent satellite crashes, including two Starlink incidents, have added to the clutter, with Starlink alone accounting for...
Auburn, Ala., Will Buy 4 Drones for First Responder Use
The Auburn City Council approved a six‑year contract with Axon Enterprise to buy four Skydio drones for the police department, costing $992,501 in total. The first‑year payment is $89,782, rising to $180,543 annually thereafter. The semi‑autonomous drones will patrol two...
Washington Cities Contemplate Crypto ATM Bans Amid Losses
Washington’s Tri‑Cities have seen at least $2.4 million siphoned through cryptocurrency ATMs, prompting Kennewick to consider a 180‑day notice ban on new kiosks. Spokane, the state’s first city to outlaw crypto ATMs, reported a sharp drop in related cases after its...
Spokane, Wash., Police to Use Drones to Protect World Cup Team
Spokane’s City Council approved a $227,000 purchase of four Skydio surveillance drones and a rapid‑deployment barrier system to protect Egypt’s World Cup team during its training camp. The police department will initially absorb the cost, expecting reimbursement from FIFA‑related grants....
Actor Jeremy Renner Invests in RapidSOS, Cuts Documentary
Actor Jeremy Renner has joined public‑safety technology firm RapidSOS as a brand partner and investor. RapidSOS, which has raised more than $450 million and serves over 23,000 agencies in 16 countries, is pushing AI‑driven data integration to modernize emergency dispatch. Renner’s...
North Andover, Mass., To Buy Body-Worn Cameras for $200K
North Andover’s Select Board voted unanimously to earmark $200,000 from its Capital Improvement Plan to purchase body‑worn cameras for the police department. The funding will equip 50 officers at roughly $2,000 each, covering both hardware and software. The allocation replaces...
Motorola Solutions Buys 911 Call Center AI Firm HyperYou
Motorola Solutions announced the acquisition of HyperYou, a startup that provides agentic AI for 911 call centers. The technology targets non‑emergency calls, which make up roughly two‑thirds of call volume, and adds real‑time language translation. Motorola will embed HyperYou’s AI...
Michigan Sees Boom in License Plate Reader Usage
Waterford Township police chief secured board approval to expand its license‑plate reader (LPR) network, adding four new cameras to the existing twelve. LPR technology has surged across Michigan, with more than 180 law‑enforcement agencies—about one‑third of the state—using Flock Safety...
Oakland County, Mich., Weighs Flock Drones Amid Privacy Concern
Oakland County commissioners will review a nine‑month pilot with Flock that provides seven drones for case‑related investigations. The pilot is free, but if not terminated by Dec. 15, 2026, a two‑year contract worth about $2.5 million automatically activates. Each flight’s route, duration and...
Minneapolis Area Cities Shutting Off License Plate Cameras
Twin Cities police departments have been installing automated license‑plate readers (ALPRs) from Flock Safety, but several municipalities are now pulling back. Brooklyn Park terminated its $24,000 contract and is switching to Axon after privacy and service complaints, while Shorewood shut off...
Authorities Deploy AI Surveillance Towers Near San Diego
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) has installed 203 AI‑powered surveillance towers along the U.S.–Mexico border, including roughly two dozen in the San Diego sector. The towers, ranging from 120 to 180 feet tall, combine cameras, radar, 5G and Starlink links to autonomously...
Can a New AI-Powered Platform Help Police Close Cases?
Guillaume Delépine founded San Francisco‑based Longeye to use AI for sorting massive digital evidence, aiming to boost police case‑closure rates. The platform, now negotiating 20 contracts, ingests data such as phone records, emails and GPS to deliver searchable case summaries,...
New Washington Law Regulates License Plate Readers
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 6002, the state’s first set of rules governing automated license plate readers (ALPR). The law blocks federal and out‑of‑state agencies from accessing data collected by public‑sector cameras, bans placement near health‑care facilities, courts...
Los Angeles Jury’s Verdict on Social Media May Spark Change
Two landmark jury verdicts this week dealt blows to Meta and Google, with a Los Angeles jury awarding $6 million to a teen plaintiff and a New Mexico panel imposing $375 million on Meta for allegedly designing addictive features for children. The cases...
Amid ‘Buyer’s Remorse,’ Cleveland Warms to Traffic Cameras
Cleveland City Council is reconsidering automatic traffic cameras as speeding and red‑light citations have plummeted—down 68% for speeders and 54% for red‑light violations since 2015. Council members highlighted a 2014 voter‑approved charter ban that now limits the city’s ability to...
Cobb County, Ga., Eyes Federal Grant for World Cup Security
The Cobb County Police Department is set to receive a $10.68 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to purchase counter‑unmanned aircraft systems (C‑UAS) ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The funding will equip the department with radar‑camera...
Seattle Mayor Halts Police Surveillance Camera Expansion
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced a pause on the planned expansion of police CCTV cameras, except for a limited deployment at World Cup stadiums pending a credible threat. She ordered a comprehensive audit of existing camera protocols, partnering with NYU’s...
NLC Partnership Aims to Help Local Govt. In Deploying Drones
The National League of Cities (NLC) has partnered with drone‑technology firm BRINC to create a nationwide program that helps municipalities launch drone‑as‑first‑responder (DFR) services linked to 911 calls. BRINC will handle site selection, FAA waivers, installation, training and dashboard reporting,...
New Portable Electrocardiogram Lets EMTs Diagnose Heart Attack
Kern County Public Health has deployed a new AI‑enabled, five‑lead portable electrocardiogram that delivers 12‑lead diagnostics to EMTs. Within weeks of the Feb. 1 rollout, Hall Ambulance EMTs used the device to identify a myocardial infarction in a home patient, enabling...
Tornado Season Ahead, Cass County, Ind., Sheriff Promotes App
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has launched a public app on Apple and Google Play that aggregates inmate data, sex‑offender registries, and community resources. It offers push notifications for National Weather Service tornado warnings and plans to add alerts for...
NEOGOV Acquires Public Safety Tech Firm PowerDetails
NEOGOV, a leading HR‑software provider for government agencies, announced the acquisition of PowerDetails, a platform that schedules off‑duty law‑enforcement shifts and special‑event assignments. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. PowerDetails, launched in 2006, serves over 99,000 users and has...
Michigan Bills Would Regulate Automatic License Plate Readers
Michigan lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan two‑bill package to regulate automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) used by law‑enforcement and private firms. The proposals would restrict data collection, storage, and sharing, limit retention to 14 days, and require quarterly public reports...