NEW YORK – August 21, 2026 – The North Miami Police Department (NMPD) has launched on Mark43, the leading cloud-native public safety operations platform, bringing its dispatch, records, analytics and mobile operations together on one modern, cloud-native system. Serving more than 60,000 residents across 10 square miles, the department’s 125 sworn officers and 30 professional staff are now operating on an upgraded technology platform designed to enhance efficiency, visibility, resiliency, and service to the community.
Under the leadership of Chief Cherise G. Gause, NMPD developed a Five-Year Strategic Plan that represents its collective vision and goals for a more proactive police department, anchored by a core commitment to leveraging modern technology to enhance efficiency and public safety. “This upgrade isn’t just for the Police Department; it’s for the entire City of North Miami,” shared Chief Gause. “As the City of North Miami has continued to grow and evolve over the years, so have the operational and technology needs of our Police Department. As such, it became important to transition to a more modern platform that can better support our officers, improve efficiency, and meet the expectations of a growing community. This new system now gives our officers the tools they need to work more efficiently and safely. With Mark43, we have real-time data at our fingertips, allowing us to provide the most efficient, accurate information possible to support our community.”
Bob Hughes, CEO of Mark43, shared, “Florida agencies are increasingly investing in modern public safety technology to better serve their communities, and we’re proud to help meet that demand. Chief Gause and the North Miami Police Department’s commitment to operational excellence and community safety make them an outstanding partner as they build a more efficient and resilient future.”
For agencies in South Florida, resilient technology is essential. As hurricanes and severe weather threaten local infrastructure year-over-year, agencies risk losing power and disruptions to the systems that keep their communities safe. By upgrading to a cloud-native platform, NMPD ensures its mission critical systems remain stable and connected even if on-premises environments are compromised. Built in the AWS GovCloud, Mark43 provides the highest level of resiliency, connectivity, and security to keep officers and the community safe during all conditions.
“Resiliency is always something we must consider, especially during hurricane season. Knowing that our systems will now remain operational despite any potential local disruptions is important. Mark43’s cloud-native architecture gives us a level of stability, security, and continuity that is required for our work and keeping our community safe,” shared Chief Gause.
The NMPD will utilize a number of products from Mark43’s innovative portfolio:
The interoperability of Mark43 CAD and RMS will ensure all users, from telecommunicators and investigators to command staff, share the same source of truth.
Mark43 RMS streamlines and automates NMPD’s reporting workflows, reducing errors, and improving efficiency.
With the automated reporting and real-time dashboards within Mark43 Insights, leaders, analysts, and investigators gain instant insights into emerging trends and resource needs.
Mark43 OnScene enables NMPD to work more safely and effectively from the field.
North Miami Police Department joins surrounding agencies including Coral Gables Police Department, Miami Gardens Police Department, Bay Harbor Islands Police Department, Venice Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, Fort Myers Police Department, and Miami Springs Police Department on the Mark43 Public Safety Platform.
NEW YORK – August 13, 2026 – From hurricanes and large-scale emergency response to rapidly growing populations and complex regional coordination, Florida public safety agencies require technology that is resilient, secure, and built to keep critical operations running in moments that matter most. Over the last 18 months, Mark43 has doubled its footprint across Florida, representing a statewide movement toward more connected, resilient public safety operations.
“Public safety leaders across Florida are embracing technology that helps their teams work smarter and respond faster,” said Bob Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of Mark43. “We’re proud to provide the cloud-native, AI-powered platform that helps agencies streamline operations, reduce administrative burden, and focus more time on serving their communities.”
The Mark43 Public Safety Platform combines Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), Records Management System (RMS), OnScene mobile workflows, Insights, AI-powered tools and an open platform architecture that supports Florida-specific compliance requirements, including FIBRS and NIBRS reporting.
Mark43’s cloud-native architecture provides agencies with resilience during hurricanes, cyber threats, and other critical incidents. It is the only CAD and RMS solution that is FedRAMP High and GovRAMP High Authorized, providing agencies with industry-leading security and resiliency.
Recent partnerships with the Homestead Police Department and North Miami Police Department reflect what investment in a modern public safety platform means for officers and communities:
Chief Cherise G. Gause of the North Miami Police Department shared, “This upgrade isn’t just for the Police Department; it’s for the entire City of North Miami. As the City of North Miami has continued to grow and evolve over the years, so have the operational and technology needs of our department. This new system will give our officers the tools they need to work more efficiently and safely with real-time data at their fingertips to deliver the most accurate information possible to our community.”
Chief Mario Knappof the Homestead Police Department shared, “We need tools that actually work for us. Mark43 does that—it’s NIBRS-compliant, fully integrated with Florida’s systems, and it scales as we grow. But what matters most is what it lets us do: serve our community better, faster, with the accountability they deserve.”
Recent deployments across the state at the Miami Springs Police Department, Venice Police Department and Bay Harbor Islands Police Department reinforce the value in an implementation partner that is there every step of the way:
Deputy Chief Albert Vargas of the Miami Springs Police Department shared, “This launch is transformative for our officers, sergeants, command staff, dispatchers, and records personnel, and the impact extends well beyond implementation. Mark43 has already provided a stronger foundation for public safety operations, improved access to information across the organization, and helped ensure our personnel have the tools they need to better serve and protect the public.”
Captain Eric Hill of the Venice Police Department shared, “Having overseen numerous technology projects at our department, I can confidently say that Mark43 has been the best implementation team I’ve worked with. From sales through implementation, Mark43 demonstrated an exceptional commitment to ensuring a successful rollout and maintaining a strong customer relationship.”
Chief Luis E. Alvarez of the Bay Harbor Islands Police Department shared, “Mark43 brought our critical systems into one connected platform, and the difference is immediate. We now have better tools to support daily operations, stronger disaster recovery preparedness, and seamless data sharing with agencies across Dade County.”
Through hurricanes and major incidents, long-standing customers demonstrate what a reliable, resilient partnership looks like, ensuring readiness for the challenges ahead:
Chief Ed Hudak of the Coral Gables Police Department shared, “Mark43 has made us faster and more effective at solving crimes. Detectives have case information at their fingertips the moment they need it. Everything we’ve asked the system to do, from CAD and RMS to integrations with body cameras, drones, and other critical platforms, has worked the way we needed it to. We’re taking bad people off the street because information flows faster and more consistently than ever before.”
Chief Jason Fields of the Fort Myers Police Department shared, “As a Florida PSAP and law enforcement agency, we depend on technology that can support critical operations through severe weather and hurricane conditions. Mark43 has been a reliable and collaborative partner, keeping critical operations up and running during Hurricane Ian and giving our personnel the continuity and confidence they need to serve our community.”
Chief Joseph DeGiulio of the Boynton Beach Police Department shared, “Officers should be focused on serving the community and staying out in the field, not worrying about arduous workflows. We live in a world where people expect information to be two clicks away, and Mark43 CAD and RMS continues to move us in that direction with a system that’s intuitive, efficient, and built around how officers actually work. The technology has been great, but just as important has been the partnership. We’ve had strong support, great relationships, and a team we can count on.”
Chief Delrish Moss of the Miramar Police Department shared, “Six years into our partnership, Mark43 continues to deliver. As the Miramar Police Department has evolved, the platform has grown with us, providing our personnel with a modern, reliable records management system and stronger regional coordination through its integration with Broward County CAD. Mark43 has earned our confidence by listening to the needs of law enforcement, responding to feedback and continuously improving its technology to better support public safety.”
Commander Erik Gleason of the Miami Gardens Police Department shared, “Miami Gardens rightfully demands a lot from its police department and our technology has to match that. Mark43 connects our critical systems, improves coordination, and turns data into insight our team can actually use.”
Ready to modernize your operations and join the growing network of agencies operating on Mark43? Connect with us and learn more at www.mark43.com.
MANCHESTER, UK – 31 July 2026 – Mark43, the leading public safety operations supplier, has been shortlisted for the 2026 UK IT Industry Awards as Vendor of the Year, one of the most respected recognitions in the UK technology sector.
Now in their 16th year, the UK IT Industry Awards, run by the British Computer Society, The Chartered Institute for IT and Computing, celebrate the people, projects and organisations shaping the future of technology in the UK. The Vendor of the Year category judges companies against excellence in market growth and customer satisfaction, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, technology innovation, and investment in the UK.
Tom Allen, Editorial Director of Computing, said “Being shortlisted in the UK IT Industry Awards is a fantastic achievement, recognising those who make the list as leaders in the competitive and fast-moving UK tech landscape. The quality of entries and innovation continues to improve every year, and we can’t wait to celebrate our entrants’ success at the 2026 awards.”
“This recognition belongs to the police forces we work with every day, whose officers and staff work tirelessly to keep the public safe,” said Matt Polega, Co-Founder and Managing Director UK. “Building technology that matches that responsibility is why we opened our doors in the UK, and why we’re proud to continue meeting the demand for modern solutions. Being named among the top suppliers in the country is a real honour for the team, and it spurs us on to keep raising the bar every day.”
Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 11 November 2026 at Battersea Evolution, London.
About BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
The British Computer Society, branded ‘BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT’, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in information technology, computing, software engineering and computer science, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. As a charity with a royal charter, its agenda is to lead the IT industry through its ethical challenges, to support the people who work in the industry and to make IT good for society. Founded in 1957 it has 70,000 members. Website: https://www.bcs.org
NEW YORK – July 30, 2026 – Mark43, the leading cloud-native public safety operations platform, today announced the Putnam County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is set to deploy its Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), Records Management System (RMS) and OnScene mobile app to modernize dispatch, incident reporting, case management, investigations and field operations.
Putnam County SPCA serves a unique role in New York State’s public safety ecosystem. Working alongside Putnam County 911, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, local police departments, New York State Police and New York State Environmental Conservation Police, the agency leads investigations into animal cruelty and related criminal offenses, including domestic violence, protects vulnerable animals and people, and helps hold offenders accountable under New York State law.
“Mark43 is light years ahead,” said Chief Ken Ross of Putnam County SPCA. “For years we’ve been working around the limitations of legacy technology, manually moving information between systems and spending time trying to piece together details that should already be there. With Mark43, our people won’t be flying blind. They can help animals in need, do their job safely, and get home.”
“We’re proud to meet the growing demand across New York for modern technology that helps officers work smarter, faster, and keep their communities safer,” said Bob Hughes, CEO of Mark43. “Chief Ross and his team are out there every day investigating animal cruelty and protecting some of the most vulnerable. We’re proud to support that work.”
More Information, Faster Dispatch
Putnam County SPCA receives calls around the clock from residents, surrounding agencies and public safety partners, ranging from reports of neglected or injured animals to active cruelty investigations where officers must respond with accurate information immediately.
For the first time, the agency will have real-time visibility into unit locations. The live map within Mark43 CAD shows dispatchers and officers nearby units, resources, and location details for smarter response and better officer safety.
“We don’t have a way to see where our units are or quickly pull information while a call is unfolding,” Chief Ross said. “With Mark43, we’ll have better information from the moment the call comes in. Everything will carry through into the investigation without losing details so we can stop wasting time chasing down information we should already have.”
In 2025, Putnam County SPCA responded and investigated nearly 2,600 blotter entries, a 9% increase from 2024. In 2026, the agency is tracking and expecting another 10% increase in activity. Chief Ross estimates the new system will eliminate up to 20 minutes of administrative work per call, freeing officers to get back in the field.
Accurate Data, Complete Records, and Stronger Advocacy
Mark43 RMS will help officers create complete and accurate reports. Whether documenting animal cruelty investigations or related criminal offenses, this system makes it easier to identify recurring patterns across investigations, locations and offenders, build stronger cases, and collaborate more effectively with partner agencies. Built-in NIBRS validation and CJIS compliance reduce administrative burden.
As a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Putnam County SPCA must demonstrate the breadth of its work to county leaders while documenting investigations that often involve multiple agencies and jurisdictions. With Mark43, Putnam County SPCA can analyze and generate reports to support operational planning and funding decisions.
“Every year we’re asked to show what we’re doing. Today that means sorting through reports one by one—manually,” shared Chief Ross. “With Mark43, we’ll be able to clearly show where we’re responding, what cases we’re handling and the impact we’re making. That transparency will help us advocate for the funding we need to advance our mission.”
Mobile Intelligence for Smarter, Safer Response
Animal cruelty calls often signal larger public safety concerns. Officers responding to reports of neglect, abuse or abandoned animals, regularly encounter domestic violence, child welfare issues, elder abuse or illegal weapons. Access to accurate information before arriving on scene will help officers prepare and respond with greater awareness.
Using Mark43 OnScene, officers can securely access CAD and RMS information from mobile phones, review address history, and begin documenting investigations directly in the field.
Chief Ross shared, “Nine times out of ten, we don’t know exactly what we’re walking into. Having location history, previous incidents and important safety information at our fingertips will give our officers a much clearer picture of the situation. It will help us respond smarter, faster, and stay safer.”
As Putnam County SPCA modernizes its operations with Mark43, community support remains essential to its mission. Community members can support by donating, volunteering, reporting suspected animal cruelty or helping raise awareness of its work. To learn more or get involved, visit www.spcaputnam.org.
About Putnam County SPCA
Putnam County SPCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization and NYS-certified law enforcement agency with full police powers to enforce New York State criminal and animal cruelty laws. The agency works to prevent animal cruelty and related public safety incidents in Putnam County through law enforcement, investigations, animal protection, humane education and collaboration with local, county and state public safety partners. To donate, volunteer or report suspected animal cruelty, visit https://spcaputnam.org or call 845-520-6915.
NEW YORK – June 29, 2026 – Mark43 today announced that the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department (Harbor Police) has successfully deployed its cloud-native Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), First Responder and OnScene mobile applications, and Insights advanced analytics. The launch marks a significant milestone for Harbor Police, bringing a unified, mobile-first platform to the Port of San Diego.
Sharing San Diego Bay with approximately 24% of all U.S. Navy vessels and 17% of the Navy’s active-duty personnel, the Port is a uniquely complex and critical maritime and transportation hub for Southern California. Harbor Police is responsible for protecting the bay, San Diego International Airport, and critical maritime infrastructure. Unlike traditional police departments, officers routinely transition between foot patrol, vehicles, boats, airport terminals, waterfront facilities, and marine fire and rescue during a single shift.
“Launching this CAD system is a huge milestone for HPD,” said Captain Christopher Woodward at the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department. “From day one, it was clear the partnership with Mark43 would be different. No other vendor comes close to the level of collaboration and commitment we received throughout this project. This launch is what happens when technology, people, and mission alignment come together.”
“The Port of San Diego Harbor Police plays a critical role in protecting the people, infrastructure, and commerce that keep the region moving,” said Bob Hughes, CEO of Mark43. “We’re proud to support their mission by ensuring officers have the information they need when and where they need it—whether on the water, at the airport, or in the field—helping them make faster decisions and work more effectively.”
Purpose-Built for Port and Transportation Policing
Now, with CAD, OnScene and First Responder, Harbor Police officers have access to live call information, maps, unit locations, and incident updates directly from their mobile devices and mobile data computers (MDCs), no longer relying solely on radio.
“Whether we’re on foot in the airport, responding on the waterfront, or operating from a patrol boat, having immediate access to information from a mobile device is a game changer. What once required multiple phone calls, radio transmissions, or manual updates can now be done in seconds. Officers can access and update information directly in the field, eliminating the need to fill valuable radio airtime with routine status updates, allowing dispatchers to focus on higher priority communications. This gives our personnel and command staff a level of situational awareness we’ve never had before,” said Christine McMillen, Civilian Manager, Communications and Records at the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department.
These capabilities are especially valuable across the department’s diverse operations. Vessel units routinely respond to incidents using 16-character location coordinates transmitted over marine radio channels, which previously had to be manually recorded and entered while monitoring radio traffic. At San Diego International Airport, routine door checks, badge checks, and facility security activities often consumed valuable radio airtime. With Mark43, officers can access incident locations, complete routine activities digitally, reduce radio congestion, and respond more efficiently whether operating on the water or in a terminal.
The benefits were evident almost immediately following the launch. “When our chief needed information on an active incident, what used to take several back-and-forth phone calls was answered with a quick glance at my phone. Once everyone is fully onboarded, those calls may not need to happen at all,” shared Assistant Chief Jeffrey Geary of the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department.
Secure, Data-Driven Public Safety Operations
Harbor Police also needed a platform that could support data-driven policing and evolving cybersecurity requirements. Mark43 Insights delivers advanced analytics dashboards, and automated reporting tools that help agency leaders quickly access information and make more informed decisions, while providing a secure and resilient foundation for daily operations.
“One of our goals was to give our teams better access to information while reducing the administrative burden of hosting an on-premises solution, fragmented reporting workflows and analysis,” said Maria Horne, Senior System Support Analyst at the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department. “Equally important was ensuring we had a secure and resilient platform for our mission-critical operations. Mark43 gives us confidence in both our day-to-day operations and our long-term technology strategy, while delivering the analytics and search capabilities that will help us make more informed decisions going forward.”
Together, Mark43’s platform, mobile dispatching tools, and advanced analytics capabilities provide Harbor Police with the infrastructure needed to meet the evolving demands of modern port policing. The launch also reflects growing adoption of cloud-native public safety technology across Southern California, with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office set to launch on the Mark43 platform later this year.
A police officer’s body-camera footage is transcribed directly into the ReportAI interface developed by software company Mark43. Police departments across the country are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to help draft reports, analyze evidence and manage massive amounts of digital data from body cameras, surveillance systems and case files. (Photo courtesy of Mark43)
Hundreds of people fill a downtown street for a protest, waving signs and chanting as they march past businesses and government buildings. Overhead, a police drone records video of the crowd. Nearby traffic cameras and license plate readers capture faces, vehicles and movements along the route.
With artificial intelligence, experts say, hours of footage can be analyzed in minutes, making it easier for police to track or target a participant long after the demonstration ends.
As law enforcement agencies increasingly embrace AI, some civil liberties advocates, legal scholars and policing experts warn that the technology could amplify surveillance, introduce hidden biases into investigations and make it harder to challenge evidence in court. They also worry about a future in which AI takes on a more active role in policing and criminal investigations.
“It’s especially concerning sort of the ways that these tools could supercharge that kind of surveillance and enforcement,” said Rachel Levinson-Waldman, the director of the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy organization at the New York University School of Law. Levinson-Waldman has written extensively about the risks of police surveillance and the unregulated use of AI in policing.
Artificial intelligence in policing is not new. For decades, law enforcement agencies have used data-driven and automated tools, including facial recognition systems, automated license plate readers, predictive policing models and video analytics that can flag objects or activity in recorded footage.
What is changing is the speed, scope and complexity of those tools. As police departments accumulate growing volumes of digital evidence — from body camera footage and surveillance video to jail calls, social media records and case files — AI is increasingly being used to help sort, search and analyze that information.
“AI is going to basically be able to sort through otherwise overwhelming amounts of data in ways that we just haven’t seen yet, and give police and prosecutors and the government a lot more power over us in ways that I think will be deeply uncomfortable for many of us,” said Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a law professor at George Washington University and the author of “Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance,” a book published this year.
Cris Moore, a computer scientist and professor at the Santa Fe Institute, a research and education center, said the technology is advancing faster than agencies, regulators and courts are able to fully assess its implications, raising questions about transparency, accountability and the role automated systems should play in policing decisions.
“It’s fair to say that the speed at which technologically created evidence has been adopted, and the aggression with which it’s being pushed makes it hard for the legal community to keep up,” Moore said.
State legislatures and police departments are still developing rules to govern how AI can be used in public safety settings. While some agencies have adopted internal policies or vendor-specific guidance, there is no consistent national framework, and state-level approaches remain limited and uneven.
At least two states, California and Utah, have recently enacted laws regulating the use of generative AI in police report writing, requiring disclosure when AI is used and adding safeguards around accuracy and oversight.
More broadly, more than a dozen states have passed laws regulating related technologies such as facial recognition, drone surveillance and automated license plate readers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Emerging tech
Some of the major companies offering AI-powered tools for law enforcement include Axon, Motorola Solutions, TRULEO, Flock Safety, Clearview AI and others. Their products can search body-worn camera footage, analyze large datasets, review digital evidence and case files and identify potential suspects through facial recognition.
Some of these systems are built into centralized platforms that are able to pull and search for data from sensitive databases and police records.
There are very real constitutional, statutory and practical risks with this new model of agentic policing. – Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, law professor at George Washington University
Mark43, a cloud-based software company serving more than 300 public safety agencies, offers two AI-powered tools. ReportAI helps officers draft reports using information from dispatch records and body camera footage, while BriefAI summarizes case information for investigators and supervisors.
Police agencies can choose which AI features to enable and who can access them, and the system maintains audit logs of AI-assisted activity. Mark43 told Stateline that dozens of agencies are using, testing out or evaluating the AI features.
“Our core mission is to help responders spend less time on administrative work, so that they can spend more time serving in their communities,” said Wendy Gilbert, Mark43’s senior vice president of product.
Some experts are wary of AI being used for decisions that could affect a person’s rights or freedom, such as identifying suspects, recommending enforcement actions or influencing arrests. Critics warn that AI-generated outputs can make mistakes, reflect biases in underlying data and create a risk that officers or investigators place too much weight on the technology’s recommendations.
They also argue that many AI systems operate in ways that are difficult for the public — and sometimes even officers — to fully understand.
One source of concern is the possible advent of “agentic policing.” Future technologies could integrate body-camera footage, camera networks and other data sources into a single system capable of generating investigative leads, identifying potential suspects or suggesting connections between cases.
Even if humans remain responsible for final decisions, critics say, such systems could shape investigative judgments in ways that make it more difficult to understand how conclusions were reached.
“All that data is going to be dumped into an AI model, and they’re going to query it to say who’s the most likely suspect,” said Ferguson of George Washington University. “The AI is going to be running the agentic analysis of it and come up with the answer, and then police and prosecutors have to kind of work backwards to see if it’s accurate.”
Ferguson warned that this flips the traditional investigative process on its head.
“We’ve never started with an answer and made people work backwards,” he said. “There are very real constitutional, statutory and practical risks with this new model of agentic policing.”
AI companies and some law enforcement agencies argue the technology is designed to assist officers, not replace them. They emphasize that officers are responsible for reviewing, verifying and approving AI-generated information, and that the tools are intended to reduce administrative work and help people navigate large volumes of data more efficiently.
“AI should increase accountability, not reduce it, and so we’re doing everything in our will to provide transparency, governance and human control,” said Zach Barden, the lead product manager for AI at Mark43.
In recent years, a growing number of police officers across the country have been accused of misusing AI-powered tools, including automated license plate reader systems, available through their departments to track people for personal reasons.
In April, a former Costa Mesa, California, police officer pleaded guilty to using law enforcement databases and Flock Safety cameras to monitor his wife, a mistress and several romantic rivals. Similar allegations have surfaced in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Flock Safety, one of the nation’s largest providers of automated license plate readers, uses roadside cameras to capture images and video of passing vehicles, including license plates and basic vehicle details, and store them in searchable law enforcement databases.
Some communities have reconsidered their use of automated license plate reader systems, with at least 30 cities ending or canceling contracts since early 2025 amid growing concerns about surveillance and data sharing, NPR reported in February.
A Flock Safety representative was not available for an interview with Stateline before publication. In a May blog post, the company said misuse of its system is rare and noted that permanent audit logs help identify and investigate improper access.
The company said the camera network has helped agencies recover missing people, connect cases across jurisdictions and identify suspects more quickly.
Reshaping public safety operations
While some law enforcement agencies have moved forward with early deployments, others are taking a more cautious approach as they assess potential benefits and risks.
In Maryland, the Montgomery County Police Department, one of the state’s largest law enforcement agencies, is in the early stages of exploring potential uses of AI, including tools to support non-emergency call handling, translation and transcription services, and report writing to reduce administrative workload and improve efficiency.
“We want to bring technology to policing, but we need to make sure that we do it safe(ly), we do it efficiently, and that when we do do it, we’re setting the community and ourselves up for success,” said Capt. Cody Fields, the director of the police department’s media and public information division.
In Arkansas, officials are developing the Arkansas Criminal Intelligence Network, a centralized cloud platform designed to connect data across police agencies in the state and support the use of advanced AI-powered analytical tools.
In Hawaii, the Maui County Council earlier this month approved a $1.7 million expansion of high-tech policing tools, including cameras and drones supported by AI to assist with real-time monitoring and emergency response. Last year, the Honolulu Police Department announced a pilot program with Axon, which offers a generative AI feature that helps draft police reports using video and audio transcriptions from body-worn cameras.
Legal and evidentiary concerns
Police reports often play a critical role in investigations and court proceedings, and some experts warn that errors introduced by AI systems could have significant legal consequences if they go undetected.
Errors introduced by AI systems, including inaccuracies, omissions or misinterpretations of context and language, could influence how evidence is understood by investigators, prosecutors and judges.
Experts and industry leaders generally point to a few safeguards: clear disclosure when AI is used in reports, mandatory human verification of all AI-generated text, regular independent auditing of tools, and training for law enforcement and legal stakeholders on how the systems function and how to trace outputs back to raw audio, video and other source evidence.
Those recommendations align with a framework released earlier this year by the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice, which calls for rigorous independent validation of AI systems, enforceable procurement standards, ongoing performance monitoring, and clear human oversight to ensure operators can override AI-generated outputs.
“The pace of change is really pretty dramatic, and there’s a lot of energy and churn and attention to these issues,” said Jesse Rothman, the director of the Council on Criminal Justice’s task force on artificial intelligence. “The opportunities and the risks are really serious.”
The offering automates submissions of data about firearms from the Mark43 RMS to ATF, according to a statement. That reduces manual entry, potentially speeding up investigations into gun-related crimes while adding more digital efficiency to the process.
Results could come in minutes or hours instead of days or weeks, Mark43 said.
The company conducts a “daily download” with the ATF that includes information about “new firearm manufacturers, firearm models, calibers and importers,” Adam Brewer, a former ATF officer who now works as Mark43 services and partner enablement lead, told Government Technology via email.
Brewer said the company built the new system with help from the Louisville Metro Police Department, and in response to customer demand from law enforcement agencies. In Louisville, the detection tool has reduced processing time by 95 percent, he said.
That department processes more than 3,500 guns each year.
“We were spending 10 to 14 days on manual, batch-based submissions, requiring follow-up reviews and lots of waiting,” said Kris Cambron, property room supervisor at LMPD, in the statement. “Now, with the Mark43 interfaces, that data can be sent instantly, enabling investigators to receive trace results in hours.”
This is not the first time a gov tech supplier has decided to get deeper into gun detection. In 2023, Axon, known mainly for its body cameras worn by police, launched a database for police-involved fatal shootings.
NEW YORK – June 25, 2026 – Mark43, the leading public safety operations platform, today announced the availability of its Crime Gun Data Interfaces, enabling agencies to connect its RMS with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) NIBIN Enforcement Support System (NESS) and eTrace systems. Developed with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), the interfaces automate agency-directed submissions of crime gun-related data from Mark43 RMS to ATF systems. By reducing manual entry, the interfaces help agencies submit more timely and complete crime gun data for analysis and access critical trace and ballistic intelligence in hours instead of weeks.
For many public safety agencies, submitting this crime gun information to NESS and eTrace remains manual and fragmented. Staff often re-enter the same information across multiple systems, with submissions to NESS and eTrace taking up to 15 minutes and results delayed by days or weeks. For agencies already managing growing caseloads with limited staff, these inefficiencies make it harder to identify connections between shootings, firearms, and suspects, introducing errors and slowing investigations.
The interfaces are designed to support agencies in accordance with their own policies, applicable laws, and existing investigative workflows. They help automate and improve processes that many law enforcement agencies already perform manually when working on crime gun investigations.
“Our customers have come to us for years with the same problem: firearm data getting stuck. Captured in one system, manually re-entered into others, with critical intelligence delayed or missed entirely,” said Florian Mayr, Co-Founder and Head of RMS at Mark43. “By embedding submissions workflows directly into Mark43 RMS, agencies reduce manual entry and move crime gun data through the investigative process faster. The moment data is entered it can be shared, analyzed, and returned as actionable intelligence without the lag or duplication that has historically slowed investigations.”
Using the NIBIN/NESS Interface and eTrace DIRECT Interface, agencies can:
Capture firearm data, including make, model, and serial number, once and submit automatically, eliminating duplicate entry
Receive trace results, including purchaser and possessor information and ballistic intelligence in hours rather than days
Surface connections across firearm, forensic, and incident data to identify patterns and links faster, including automatic updates to the firearm code tables between Mark43 RMS and ATF
Reduce errors and free staff to focus on active investigations
The interfaces were developed in close partnership with LMPD, a long-standing Mark43 customer that helped define the vision and refine workflows. “This started with a real challenge and a shared commitment to solving it,” said Heidi Fieselmann, Director of Customer-Focused Solutions at Mark43. “By working closely with LMPD and in coordination with ATF, we built interfaces that get critical firearm intelligence into investigators’ hands faster, helping them act on leads sooner, strengthen cases, and ultimately bring justice for people who have been victimized.”
“We were spending 10 to 14 days on manual, batch-based submissions, requiring follow-up reviews and lots of waiting,” said Kris Cambron, Property Room Supervisor at LMPD. “Now, with the Mark43 interfaces, that data can be sent instantly, enabling investigators to receive trace results in hours. Investigators now have immediate access to connected firearm, forensic, and incident data, supporting faster, more definitive investigations.”
At LMPD, the results have been significant. Processing more than 3,500 firearms annually, the automation has delivered notable operational impact. LMPD has achieved an average 95% reduction in cycle time, reducing turnaround to as little as six hours. This translates to more than 3,500 staff hours per year saved and an estimated $157,500 in labor cost savings annually.
“The biggest outcome is the availability of information and the speed at which it comes back,” Cambron added. “Investigators now have forensic details, trace history, and case information all in one place, which helps support gun crime investigations more effectively.”
Our SVP of Product, Wendy Gilbert, shares how Mark43’s AI-powered platform is helping first responders write reports faster, support investigations, and spend more time serving their communities.
As more devices, platforms and everyday services become connected, the potential attack surface for cybercriminals continues to grow. Smart home products, workplace tools, cloud platforms and AI-powered services can all create new entry points when they’re misconfigured, poorly secured or connected to other systems without enough oversight.
Verify Whether Security Controls Still Work
One underestimated risk is assuming security controls stay operational. Agents fail silently, patches don’t deploy and configurations drift, even without an attack. As AI speeds up attacks, organizations need more than backups. They need continuous verification that critical controls are healthy and self-healing automation to restore them when they break. – Christy Wyatt, Absolute
Find And Secure Shadow APIs
The most underestimated risk is shadow APIs connecting legacy systems to new AI agents. While we focus on device hardware, these interfaces often lack the same rigor as public endpoints. Implement automated API discovery and schema validation at the edge, treating internal connectivity with zero trust. Ensure that even a compromised device cannot pivot laterally through an unmonitored API. – Anil Pantangi, Capgemini America Inc.
Speed Patch Management For AI-Enabled Threats
With Mythos-like frontier models, it’s going to be extremely easy for bad actors to exploit devices connected to the internet. Both businesses and consumers are extremely unprepared and, in most cases, ignorant of these emerging risks. The industry will need both user education and the ability to speed up patches that can be automatically deployed once such an exposure is confirmed. – Seemant Sehgal, BreachLock Inc.
Limit Data Collection From Smart Devices
One hidden risk is that smart devices can collect too much personal data. A TV, car or fitness app may track more than people realize. To reduce the risk, turn off data sharing you do not need and delete accounts for devices you no longer use. – Margarita Simonova, ILoveMyQA
Authenticate Machine-To-Machine Connections
Everyone secures the device. Almost no one secures what happens between devices. Machine-to-machine API calls now shadow human traffic operating on inherited trust with zero oversight. One compromised handshake cascades everywhere. The fix: Extend zero trust to the device layer. If it connects, it authenticates. Every single time. – Kiran Bhujle, SVAM International Inc.
Extend Governance To Messaging Platforms
As more devices connect, work is moving into apps like WhatsApp, Signal and WeChat, often replacing email but without the same enterprise protections. This creates an overlooked attack surface. A practical fix is to extend governance, monitoring and capture to these channels. – Dima Gutzeit, LeapXpert
Replace Default Credentials Before Devices Connect
Default credentials on connected devices are still the most underestimated Internet of Things risk. Most devices ship with insecure defaults, can’t be patched, and become botnet infrastructure or lateral movement vectors. The fix is simple but rarely done: Mandate credential rotation and firmware validation before any device joins the network. Treat every connected device as untrusted until proven otherwise. – Diptamay Sanyal, Crowdstrike
Update And Isolate Device Firmware
A commonly underestimated risk is unsecured firmware in IoT devices, which can be exploited silently at scale. Unlike apps, firmware often goes unpatched. Enforcing automatic firmware updates and network-level isolation can significantly reduce exposure and prevent compromised devices from becoming entry points into larger systems. – Govinda Rao Banothu, Cognizant Technology Solutions
Manage Identity Sprawl Across Connected Environments
I see identity sprawl as an underestimated risk as more devices and services connect. Each integration expands access paths that are rarely governed consistently. Enforcing centralized identity management and continuous access review reduces exposure and helps maintain control as environments scale. – Natasha Bryan, AlphaRidge
Strengthen Access Controls Against AI-Driven Social Engineering
Social engineering has become more sophisticated, especially with the introduction of AI. Without proper access controls and permission structures within the environment, threat actors have more exposure to sensitive and business-critical data each time their social engineering efforts are successful. – Kathleen Erickson, Holland America Line
Limit AI Agent Permissions
Enterprises using agentic AI in digital workflows must consider how they delegate agency from humans to systems. Autonomy enhances execution, but as threat actors use AI tools to exploit vulnerabilities at machine speed, agents become high-value targets. If compromised, broad permissions can amplify breaches. Assign distinct identities and limit access to required systems to reduce the attack surface. – Fletcher Keister, GTT Communications, Inc.
Separate IoT Devices From Core Networks
IoT devices like office printers, cameras, smart speakers and TVs are cyber risks. Most are built without security in mind and rarely receive updates, making them easy targets. The fix is keeping them isolated. At work, put them on a dedicated VLAN, and use a designated guest Wi-Fi at home. – Matthew Polega, Mark43
Treat Cybersecurity As An Ongoing Process
One underestimated risk is the “set it and forget it” mindset around security. As systems evolve and new integrations are added, controls that were once effective can quietly become outdated. A practical way to reduce this risk is to treat security as an ongoing process, with regular reviews of configurations, access controls and connected systems to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. – Judit Sharon, OnPage Corporation
Close The Remediation Gap
The most underestimated risk is the speed gap. AI attackers exploit vulnerabilities in hours, while organizations take weeks to respond. The real danger isn’t detection—it’s the delay in remediation. Teams must shift from reporting to action: Prioritize high-risk exposures and automate fixes. It’s no longer human versus machine—it’s machine versus machine. – Steve Carter, Nucleus Security
Map Hidden Third-Party Dependencies
Most organizations lack a full understanding of where third-party services are embedded in their processes and systems. A practical step is to move beyond single-point-in-time vendor assessments and continuously map how third parties support critical business operations. This will uncover hidden dependencies and ensure response efforts are aligned to business priorities before disruptions spread. – Michael Campbell, Fusion Risk Management
Remove Forgotten Connected Devices
The cyber risk too many people underestimate is the forgotten connected device: an old router, smart camera, printer, thermostat or IoT sensor that quietly sits on the network with weak security. The practical fix is blunt but effective: Change default passwords, update firmware, isolate IoT devices on a separate network, and remove anything you no longer use. – Mark Vena, SmartTech Research
Recognize That Everyone Is A Cyber Target
One underestimated risk is the general public’s belief that only large organizations or high-profile people are targets. In reality, connected devices, email, social accounts and home networks are often attacked opportunistically. A practical way to reduce risk is to enable multifactor authentication, keep devices updated and remove unused apps or accounts. – Craig Hamill, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Audit Stale Access And Unsafe Network Practices
A volunteer logged into a nonprofit’s fundraising CRM from public Wi-Fi on a personal laptop with admin access she stopped needing two years ago. Nobody noticed. That is the risk. Not sophisticated hacking: forgotten access, open networks and zero boundaries. The fix? Audit who has access to what, revoke what is stale, and make public Wi-Fi a policy conversation, not an IT footnote. – Tal Frankfurt, Cloud for Good
Minimize Autonomous Permissions Across Connected Systems
The most underestimated risk is over-connected autonomy—devices and services acting on behalf of users with broad, persistent permissions. One compromised node can trigger cascading actions. A practical fix: Enforce “permission minimization by default” and regularly audit what systems can do autonomously, not just what they can access. – Mateusz Przepiorkowski, Appsfactory International
