Axon Bets Big On Always-On Surveillance, Completes Acquisition Of ‘Real Time Crime Center’ Purveyor

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the who-doesn't-love-vertical-integration dept

This would be the second time in recent months that a cop tech purveyor with a heavily checkered past has shelled out big bucks to expand the reach of its own tech, as well as expand the reach of existing police surveillance capabilities.

Last October, ShotSpotter — the company whose shoddy shot spotting has been subjected to frequent criticism — announced it was getting into the predictive policing business, allowing it to compound the (in)capabilities of both forms of tech.

Of course, it didn’t make this purchase as ShotSpotter. That name is gone, presumably in hopes of distancing the company from the underperforming tech it invented. Now known as SoundThinking, ShotSpotter acquired Geolitica, itself a rebrand. Geolitica was once best known as “PredPol,” a pioneer in predictive policing tech. But predictive policing has its own image problem, so Geolitica it is — a “new” firm now in bed with another company seeking to put a lot of miles between it and its reputation by slapping a new logo on the letterhead.

Axon used to be Taser. But as Taser-related deaths pierced unpatchable holes in the brand cachet (and as Taser made the problem worse by insisting “excited delirium” was a real medical condition), the company decided to divorce itself from its tainted name as it moved into the body cam business with an eye on selling its tech (and hefty support/storage contracts) to police departments around the nation.

Axon doesn’t have the same interest in the future (so to speak) that ShotSpotter/SoundThinking does. Its acquisition isn’t about predicting crime. It’s about keeping as many eyes on everyone at all times. Jordan Pearson has more details at Vice:

Axon acquired Fusus for an undisclosed sum, according to a news release posted on Thursday. The acquisition “expands and deepens” the companies’ so-called real time capabilities. Fusus operates what it calls “real time crime centers (RTCC)” which allow police and other public agencies to analyze a wide array of video sources at a single point and apply AI that detects objects and people. These centers are reminiscent of the Department of Homeland Security’s Fusion Centers—where intelligence from a diverse number of sources is collected and shared among agencies—and have already expanded to over 250 cities and counties. 

“With Fusus, hospitals, schools, retail stores, houses of worship, event venues and residential communities—whole cities and towns—are better protected and, importantly, can contribute to greater safety for everyone,” an Axon blog on the Fusus acquisition states. 

“Better protected.” It’s a euphemism. It just means cameras in all of these places, accessible by law enforcement, and loaded up with Axon’s proprietary tech. Existing CCTV systems in hospitals, schools, event venues, and even residential areas will only be a few clicks away.

To ensure complete coverage, Fusus and Axon’s tech meshes with offerings from other major players in the field:

In roughly 22 minutes, Atlanta Police Department’s Video Integration Center (its real-time crime center, or RTCC) powered by Fusus, alerted authorities to the suspect. Through integrated CCTV camera feeds, they learned he had stolen an unattended vehicle from a gas station. Police continued to track him with views from state-owned Georgia Department of Transportation cameras and fixed-camera Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology provided by Flock Safety. This led officers to a nearby condo complex, over 10 miles from where the original incident occurred, where Axon Body 3 body-worn cameras and Axon Fleet 3 in-car cameras with Axon Respond maintained visibility.

This anecdote, offered up by Axon on its blog, details the location of a gunman who had opened fire at a hospital in Atlanta. It’s pretty inspiring, at least in this context.

But while these systems are capable of quickly locating violent threats who may still be on the move, the reality of law enforcement is much more banal. There’s zero mention in the post about what policies will govern real-time access to private cameras, nor what legal standards will need to be met to give the government the ability to peer into very private places. Nothing is said about retention of recordings or the possible use of real-time crime centers using this tech to engage in digital, remote fishing expeditions: i.e., randomly “peeking” into private cameras to see if they might catch someone doing something they shouldn’t.

And, of course, no such discussion is expected from a surveillance tech purveyor. It’s not their problem to solve. But the acquisition is presented as an unquestionable public good — one supposedly desperately needed because the United States (currently enjoying a sustained period of historically-low crime rates) and the rest of the world is firmly under the thumb of powerful crime syndicates.

The sad truth is that more than 6 million people were victims of a crime in America in 2022 (Bureau of Justice Statistics). The United States also experiences an inordinate amount of mass shootings — more than 650 in 2023 alone (Gun Violence Archive). Separately, the Axon Public Safety Gun Fatality Database shows that in 2022, 1,201 people, including both officers and civilians, lost their lives in gun-related incidents between police and the public. In other areas of the globe, gang violence has surged in Latin America; drug trafficking has hit historic levels in Europe, increasing the threat of organized crime violence (Interpol Internationational); and human trafficking is prolific in South and Central Asia (Statista).

What any of this is supposed to mean to anyone is only known by Axon’s copy writer. Axon’s domestic acquisition isn’t going to alter international crime rates. And presenting American crime stats with no form of reference is deliberately misleading, allowing readers to draw the wrong conclusions about the severity of the crime problem in the United States. If they assume things are worse than they’ve ever been, they’ll be far more likely to support always-on, everywhere surveillance networks that benefit the companies selling them the most.

Filed Under: ai, policing, predictive policing, renaming, surveillance
Companies: axon, fusus, geolitica, predpol, shotspotter, soundthinking, taser