Key Takeaways

  • Flock Safety's drone program is their fastest growing unit, deploying from specialized rooftop docks on police or fire department buildings.
  • These drones can respond to a 911 call in under a minute, flying at 60 mph with a 40x optical zoom, often arriving before human responders.
  • In one instance, a drone identified what was thought to be a gun as a toy lighter, preventing a potentially dangerous confrontation and de-escalating the situation.
  • This technology shifts the paradigm from merely solving crimes to proactively enhancing community safety through immediate situational awareness and risk mitigation.
  • The deployment emphasizes a balance between public safety and individual privacy, with built-in safeguards ensuring drones are only dispatched in response to active 911 calls.

The Under-a-Minute Advantage

Most startups aim to solve a problem. Garret Langley, CEO of Flock Safety, isn't just solving one; he’s reshaping how public safety agencies respond to emergencies, often before the first officer even gets there. He calls drones their “fastest growing business unit right now.”

Forget the usual patrol car deployment. Flock's drones live in an “HVAC control box, a dock, per se, on top of a roof, typically like a police precinct or a fire department.” When a 911 call comes in, the protocol changes. “Instead of sending an officer first, you can send a drone,” Langley explained on the All-In Podcast.

This isn't just about speed; it's about immediate, unbiased information. A drone, flying at 400 feet and 60 miles an hour, can arrive at a scene in under a minute. It’s equipped with a “40x optical zoom,” providing a crystal-clear picture of the situation on the ground. This capability moves beyond simple surveillance; it’s about proactive de-escalation.

De-escalation Through Observation

Langley shared a specific, powerful anecdote about this in action. A 911 call came in reporting a person with a gun. Officers were en route, bracing for a dangerous encounter. But the drone got there first. It zoomed in. “It’s not a gun. It’s a lighter. It’s one of those toy like lighter things,” Langley recounted. That immediate, accurate intelligence changed everything. No rushed entry, no heightened tension, no potential for tragic misunderstanding. The drone, by simply observing, diffused a high-stakes situation.

This highlights a critical pivot in Flock’s mission. “So much of my businesses have related around solving crime, but it’s more than crime. It’s about safety,” Langley said. “It’s like, ‘How do we help the community feel safe?’” The drones don't just catch criminals; they prevent incidents from escalating, improving emergency response by giving first responders eyes on the ground before they commit to a strategy.

Of course, the specter of privacy looms large. Jason Calacanis pressed Langley on safeguards: “So there’s got to be massive safeguards on the drone getting deployed is it only deployed if there’s a 911 call?” Langley confirmed this focus on transparency and strict deployment protocols, acknowledging that how these tools are implemented is just as important as the technology itself.

What to Do With This

As a founder, don’t just build a product that solves an obvious problem. Dig deeper. What secondary, less-obvious problems does your solution prevent or mitigate? Flock Safety found that their drones didn't just help solve crimes; they actively prevented them from getting worse. Map out 3 to 5 potential "de-escalation" or "prevention" scenarios for your own product this week, then figure out how you'd measure that non-obvious impact.