Vendor Feud Risks Officer Lives
The recent news that Axon plans to sever API access with Flock Safety has sparked an important conversation about data ownership and interoperability in law enforcement technology. The bottom line? It doesn’t matter who is at fault, this is wrong.
Data Silos Put Officers and Communities at Risk
When vendors refuse to cooperate and create artificial barriers between essential data sources, the consequences can be life-threatening. Law enforcement agencies rely on seamless data integration to protect officers and communities. When critical information is trapped in vendor-imposed silos, officers are forced to make decisions with incomplete data—putting lives at risk. This isn’t just a technology issue; it’s a public safety issue.
The Data Belongs to the Agencies, Not the Vendors
Let’s be clear: the data collected and used by law enforcement does not belong to the vendors providing the tools—it belongs to the agencies and officers who rely on it. Any vendor that doesn’t allow a department to easily access its own data should be fired. This is non-negotiable. Agencies should not have to beg for access to their own information or jump through hoops to share it with the systems they depend on.
Vendors Must Cooperate—No Exceptions
The idea that vendors can dictate how departments access and use their own data is outdated and unacceptable. Departments do not need permission to retrieve or share their own data. Law enforcement technology providers must work together to ensure seamless integration, because anything less jeopardizes officer safety and operational effectiveness. The era of walled-off data is over.
TRULEO’s Commitment to Open Access
At TRULEO, we firmly believe that agencies should have full control over their data. That’s why our platform ensures data is available in widely used formats like JSON and CSV, making it easy to share with other systems, including Lexipol, PowerDMS, CALEA, and Guardian Tracking. If a department wants to send TRULEO’s data downstream, they can—because it’s THEIR data, not ours.
Conclusion
Law enforcement technology must be built on trust, accountability, and interoperability. Vendors that refuse to cooperate are standing in the way of progress and, more importantly, jeopardizing officer and public safety. Agencies should demand more from their technology partners—because when data is locked away, everyone loses.
It’s time for the industry to move forward. Open access to critical data isn’t a privilege—it’s a necessity.