How can FlockOS® 911 help law enforcement and communities?

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Prepared and Flock Safety recently introduced FlockOS® 911, an integration that seamlessly bridges the gap between the caller and the responding officer, reducing information friction, driving situational clarity, and increasing safety for all parties. Alongside the existing data centralized within FlockOS®, Prepared brings data directly from the caller, including audio, live video, picture, and text.

Here are four scenarios in which FlockOS® 911 can help improve law enforcement response…

Gain situational clarity during domestic incidents

In January 2023, two telecommunicators took a call at 6:18AM from a female for a male subject with altered mental status, the male subject having fired six shots through the walls of their residence. Using Prepared’s livestream functionality, the telecommunicators could see that caller was barricaded in the bedroom and they could see a number of weapons on the bed. Additionally, they were able to verify that the caller was uninjured and not in immediate need of EMS.

As the situation evolved, they were able to track and watch the male’s movements throughout the residence, passing this information, in real-time, directly to law enforcement en route to the scene. Eventually, they convinced the male to put his weapons down and surrender with his hands up. No injury was caused to the female or responders and law enforcement knew exactly what they were going to face when they reached the scene.

With FlockOS® 911, patrol officers would gain direct access to the audio and video collected by the telecommunicators, rather than relying on a description. This would give the officers a firsthand look inside the residence as they approach, provide a level of situational awareness that was previously impossible, and allow them to strategize the safest approach to a tense situation.

Get a head start locating missing children

In Titusville, Florida, “two different children with autism disappeared from their homes at almost the same time…But police knew exactly what the children looked like almost instantaneously because the parents were able to share pictures of the children as soon as calling 911."

More from WKMG:

“’City of Titusville 911 Communications Manager Greg Morrison said before ‘Prepared [Assist],’ getting a picture of a missing child to officers in the field could take more than half an hour. In the past, an officer would have had to respond to meet with the caller, get a photograph of that person, somehow get a copy of that picture whether it’s taking a photo with their phone or body camera,’ Morrison said.

In the case of the two missing autistic children, instantaneous pictures were key:

‘They were key in both of them,’ Morrison said. ‘One, for confirmation that this was the child that they were looking for but in the other case an officer actually saw the child walking down the street and said that’s the child!’”

With FlockOS® 911, the moment a picture or video is received, patrol officers can view it and set to work, saving crucial time at the start of the search and giving the department a head start it normally would not have.

Expedite investigations

Beyond missing children or persons, the data in FlockOS® 911 can be useful for multiple types of investigations:

“[In December 2023], a 911 caller reported a prowler outside her apartment and streamed video of the heavily-armed prowler.

‘We’re now able to see the suspect of this prowler who is loitering outside of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment,” Morrison said. ‘While they’re taking video of him we observe him remove a firearm from his pants. A large AR-15 assault rifle.’

That video stream allowed officers to respond better prepared knowing exactly who they were looking for and the type of weapon the suspect was carrying. Morrison said police quickly apprehended the prowler.” (WKMG)

In San Mateo, California, police were able to locate a murder victim and the alleged perpetrator from an administrative call that originated on the other side of the country. The suspect posted a video of himself on Facebook stabbing and killing a woman, one of his Facebook friends saw the video and immediately called to report it to law enforcement in his last known location: Nye County, Nevada.

Nye County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO), Prepared’s first partner agency, used Prepared Assist to receive a screen recording of the murder, as well as the name and phone number of the suspect. Upon reaching out to the suspect and getting a location ping from his phone, NCSO realized he was actually in San Mateo.

Within 15 minutes of the original call, they were able to alert the San Mateo Police Department, who immediately began their search for the victim and suspect.

According to KSNV, “After [an] almost three-hour search, officers located the dead victim in an apartment on the 200 block of 36th Ave. in the same complex…The suspect was not on scene but was located within two hours and arrested without incident.”

“They may not have located this victim for days or weeks or months or years or ever, for all we know,” said Sheriff McGill of NCSO to KSNV, continuing, “I couldn't be more proud of how they (Nye County Sheriff’s Office staff) handled this and solved this crime.”

With FlockOS® 911, patrol officers in the area can immediately receive the collected media to aid the search for the victim and suspect, expediting the investigation at a crucial juncture.

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These four cases highlight the value that FlockOS® 911 brings to officers and communities by bridging the gap between callers and those that serve them. The result? Safer officers, safer callers, and improved emergency response.

Learn more and bring FlockOS® 911 to your department by clicking here.