At Axon, we're incredibly proud to have so many heroic customers doing inspiring work in the world. The RISE Awards were developed to help highlight those untold stories of the everyday heroes among us. From the individual officers who put their lives on the line each day, to public safety agencies who work tirelessly to protect and enhance their communities, to community organizations who work hand in hand with public safety leaders to build a better future, we look forward to highlighting these outstanding partners through this year's RISE Awards!

There are three RISE Award categories:

The RISE Officer award honors three officers who have saved a life or shown exemplary performance in the field. 

The RISE Agency award recognizes a department for making great strides in building up their community. 

The RISE Community award honors a community program working hand in hand with law enforcement to benefit their local community.

"Axon’s RISE Awards showcase the extraordinary courage, compassion and dedication to community demonstrated by officers and agencies across the country,” said Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith. “Our hope is that the stories of heroism and valor highlighted through these awards will inspire others as much as they inspire us."

Visit axon.com/riseawards to nominate an agency, officer or community program that rises above the rest. Nominations from the U.S. and Canada are open July 12 - August 15, 2021. Community voting for nominations will begin on August 16 and close August 30, 2021. Community members, friends and family may vote for one entry per day. The top 10 finalists with the most votes in each category will then be reviewed by a panel of judges and winners will be recognized at Accelerate 2021 in Phoenix, AZ.

Prizes include:

Three RISE Officer winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to Axon Accelerate in Phoenix, AZ November 1-3, 2021. 

One RISE Agency winner will receive $7,500 for their police foundation, police nonprofit or community project of agency’s choosing.

One RISE Community winner will receive $7,500 in funding towards the winning community program.

ARTICLE: Rise Awards 2021 Launch

The 2021 RISE Awards Presented by Axon

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-It’s one of investing’s hottest acronyms and possibly the most meaningful one to ever enter the foray of assessing a company’s culture, values and impact on our society. Yes, it’s that big. ESG is the platform for the financial markets to focus on sustainable and impact investing with related assets accounting for over 30% of total U.S. assets under management. Some of the most prominent investors have applied ESG mandates to their portfolios. Close to 90% of S&P 500 companies are now publishing ESG and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility- related, not quite the same) reports. Both ESG and CSR are becoming important measures for overall business success as customers, employees and the broader community use these as standards by which to hold businesses accountable.

If you are an employee of a company with an ESG Report, start paying attention to it. As an employee or potential employee, you invest your talents and time just as investors invest capital.

When Axon started focusing heavily on ESG in late 2019, we were admittedly a bit lost. We felt pressure to be compliant, but also genuinely wanted to get it right. So, we took a breath and spent last year conducting extensive research to better understand what was expected of us. It turns out ESG wasn't as new as we initially thought. It was well established. Socially responsible investing, or SRI, dates back to the 18th century when it was used as a protection against investing in companies or products that didn't align with personal beliefs or values. SRI started to gain traction in the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement gained steam, and after over 50 companies participated in a joint initiative to integrate this investing style into the capital markets in 2004, an add-on acronym was applied. ESG investing had begun.

So what caused the seemingly sudden skyrocket in ESG investing over the last few years? Could it be due to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's well-known 2020 Letter to CEOs that called for public companies to enhance their sustainability-related disclosures? Or was it due to Business Roundtable's 2019 publishing statement that redefined corporate purpose and outlined the modern standard for corporate responsibility? I believe it was and is due to our fast-paced and rapidly changing world. To survive in an evolving world, we must discuss and better understand ESG's core principles. That's the exciting thing about ESG. To discuss these core principles, we must first understand what ESG truly is.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, & Governance, and it's a set of criteria in which a company is measured against based on its overall operations and performance. Each section -- environmental, social and governance -- has a corresponding list of different reportable metrics that a company can choose to disclose. It's important to note that not every metric is relevant to every company's operations. Thankfully, SASB, or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, does some of the hard work for us by telling companies which metrics they should focus on based on their sector and the potential risks relevant to their business. We relied heavily on SASB's frameworks in our most recent report and will continue to utilize them as a guide as we improve.


“At Axon, we aspire to be a thought leader in how ESG is integrated into who we are and how we operate as a company. We view ESG as critical to making our company sustainable, and to creating value for all of the stakeholders helping us achieve our mission to Protect Life and make the bullet obsolete. Our ESG reports offer key insights into how we are making this vision a reality, and I’m very proud of our team for their creativity and thoroughness in what we publish.” - Jawad Ahsan, Chief Financial Officer

It's also essential to understand ESG holistically and how each piece of the landscape fits the puzzle. Once a company publishes an ESG and/or CSR disclosure, rating agencies such as MSCI and Sustainalytics then use the disclosures to track and grade the company's performance on their ESG metrics and, subsequently, publish an overall rating based on their findings. The ratings are then shared with the investment community, who can use them as a data point to make informed investment decisions. Naturally, the ratings are significant, but so is hearing directly from companies and their management teams.

So why does it all really matter? It's simple. Stakeholders want to see companies doing good, and when a company is performing well across each of the ESG areas, it is a reflection of their commitment to long-term sustainability. The world is evolving, we are evolving, and so should the way we operate, manage and view business functions. Companies must drive change and work towards bettering their business and the world around them. ESG ratings and disclosures are a gateway to understanding how much a company truly cares about environmental, social and governance-related issues. MSCI estimates over the next two to three decades, the millennial generation could put between $15 trillion to $20 trillion into U.S.-domiciled ESG investments. This investor base asks that their investments go beyond financial returns to include mission-driven practices aimed at creating positive societal change.

Stakeholders across the board want to know that companies prioritize critical topics and employees and potential candidates are passionate about innovating toward:

well-managed teams representing the community at large

enhanced data privacy and security to protect our web-based lifestyles

embracing diversity and inclusion opportunities

implementing environmentally-conscious practices

We can only do this through unity, awareness, and transparency. Having a united yardstick is a huge step.

As a bi-racial woman, I don't often see people in the workplace who look like me or have similar life experiences. I want that to change. I want to be sure my teams, peers and myself feel a sense of community, are experiencing equity and inclusion, and benefit from the hard work we're contributing to daily. I want to see sustainable business practices and thoughtful decision-making that considers all stakeholders. I want to protect our earth. And I want to know businesses both big and small care about these things too.

Do you care about ESG? If not, you should. Our future relies on it.

Check out the Axon 2021 ESG/CSR Report HERE and let us know what you think. We would love to hear from you!



ESG criteria are an increasingly popular way for investors to evaluate companies in which they might want to invest.

ESG Reports are a deep view on value systems within a company, and a great way to determine if a company is aligned with your values when seeking a role.

ESG criteria can also help investors avoid companies that might pose a greater financial risk due to their environmental or other practices.

Environmental criteria may include a company’s energy use, waste, pollution, natural resource conservation, and treatment of animals. The criteria can also be used in evaluating any environmental risks a company might face and how the company is managing those risks. 

Social criteria look at the company’s business relationships. Does it work with suppliers that hold the same values as it claims to hold? Does the company donate a percentage of its profits to the local community or encourage employees to perform volunteer work there? Do the company’s working conditions show high regard for its employees’ health and safety? Are other stakeholders’ interests taken into account? What does the company’s supplier and employee diversity look like?

With regard to governance, investors may want to know that a company uses accurate and transparent accounting methods and that stockholders are given an opportunity to vote on important issues. They may also want assurances that companies avoid conflicts of interest in their choice of board members, don't use political contributions to obtain unduly favorable treatment and, of course, don't engage in illegal practices.

About the Author: Angel Ambrosio joined Axon in 2017, relocating from Chicago to Scottsdale, AZ. A key member of the company's investor relations team, Angel also manages Axon's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. Prior to joining Axon, she worked in a variety of roles with a focus on communications and relationship management. Ms. Ambrosio is pursuing her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and Business from Arizona State University. She is passionate about promoting change and helping to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and is empowered to find their voice.

At Axon, we aspire to be a thought leader in how ESG is integrated into who we are and how we operate as a company. We view ESG as critical to making our company sustainable, and to creating value for all of the stakeholders helping us achieve our mission to Protect Life and make the bullet obsolete. Our ESG reports offer key insights into how we are making this vision a reality, and I’m very proud of our team for their creativity and thoroughness in what we publish.

Everyone is talking about ESG, What is it and Why it matters to Axon

ARTICLE: Everyone is talking about ESG, What is it and Why it matters to Axon

Everyone is talking about ESG, what is it and why does it matter to Axon

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 13, 2021 — Axon, the global leader in connected public safety technologies, today announced a partnership with the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA), a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the law enforcement community, to help with the design and development of the next generation Use of Force (UoF) training for law enforcement. With this partnership, Axon will leverage NTOA’s training expertise to develop virtual reality content and reality-based scenarios for de-escalation training focused on empathy, critical thinking and threat mitigation for both in-person and VR training platforms.

In an effort to enhance community and police relations in a complex world, Axon will work closely with NTOA and MIRACLE (Mental Illness Response Alternative Center Law Enforcement) to obtain constructive feedback and have Axon’s VR Training content, including VR Community Engagement and VR Simulator scenarios, and Axon Academy web-based trainings endorsed for meeting world-class standards.

“We are excited to further develop our VR Scenarios and bring on NTOA’s world-class expertise to ensure we are equipping agencies with the training and tools aimed to help in de-escalation and deliver the best possible outcome for all involved,” says CEO and Founder, Rick Smith. “This partnership is all about developing quintessential materials, tools and best practices to help deliver mutually beneficial outcomes and measure the effectiveness of these actions.”

“Our partnership with Axon will allow us to join forces in mitigating the use of force in intense situations and ensure first responders have access to the best training and technology possible,” says Thor Eells, NTOA’s Executive Director. “With this partnership, we are looking to make a difference with cutting-edge training and technology to rebuild community trust in law enforcement.”

This week, Axon launched its first wireless Virtual Reality (VR) Simulator Training to provide immersive virtual reality content that can help officers develop critical thinking, de-escalation and tactical skills. Designed to complement Axon’s existing Community Engagement Training, the VR Simulator will enable officers to actually talk and walk through the scenario as they would in the field, with feedback from trainers and supervisors, allowing them to practice more and enhance their skills, better preparing them for the situations they encounter each day.

NTOA and Axon will also partner to outline best practices around data tracking, analysis, and review to create a “gold standard” accreditation for what data should be tracked and how it should be utilized to measure program effectiveness and drive training policy and curriculum based on outcome data.


About the National Tactical Officers Association


The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the law enforcement community. The NTOA currently has more than 40,000 members from specialities that include patrol, TEMS, crisis negotiations, canine, corrections, sniper, protective operations, explosives, command, tactical dispatchers, behavioral sciences and more. These members take full advantage of the NTOA’s annual training conference, interactive members-only website offerings and eagerly await the arrival of its renowned publication, The Tactical Edge. The NTOA’s dedicated staff members work hand-in-hand with high-quality, real-world public safety experts to provide the best services to the NTOA members. This powerful combination contributes to the overall success of the organization through shared experiences and cutting-edge training. The mission of the National Tactical Officers Association is to enhance the performance and professional status of law enforcement personnel by providing a credible and proven training resource as well as a forum for the development of tactics and information exchange. The Association’s ultimate goal is to improve public safety and domestic security through training, education and tactical excellence. The National Tactical Officers Association operates with Veritas (truth, honesty and integrity) in our relationships. For more information, please visit www.NTOA.org.



MIRACLE, an acronym for Mental Illness Response Alternative Center for Law Enforcement, is a tailored system that directly addresses our nation’s current mental health crisis. The system enables first responders to not only better handle the immediate concerns of ensuring community safety when encountering a person with serious mental illness, but also focuses on long-term solutions to reduce the burden on jails, hospitals, transport, call centers and more. Designed not to be a “one size fits all” system, MIRACLE’s services can be customized to meet each organization’s needs based on their current resources and capabilities. For more information, visit https://www.miraclesaves.org/.

Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc., MIRACLE is a trademark of National Tactical Officers Association, and Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc. Axon, Axon Academy, and the Delta Logo are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are registered in the US and other countries. For more information visit www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.

ARTICLE: NTOA Partnership

Axon Virtual Reality Scenarios and Use of Force Training Policies to be constructed and endorsed by NTOA

Axon Partners with National Tactical Officers Association to Design and Develop Next-Generation Use of Force Training

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 11, 2021 — Axon (Nasdaq: AXON), the global leader in connected public safety technologies, today announced the launch of its first wireless Virtual Reality (VR) Simulator Training. Axon’s VR Simulator will provide immersive virtual reality content that can help officers develop critical thinking, de-escalation and tactical skills.

Today’s police training methods can be time-consuming, unrealistic and expensive. In addition, the majority of trainings are focused on “hands-on” use of force, which is necessary, but accounts for less than one percent of police and citizen interactions nationwide. Axon’s VR Simulator provides officers with more access to what they need most: training on how to best interact with the community, de-escalate effectively and support individuals in crisis.

“Officers on patrol frequently encounter individuals in crisis. Through the use of this breakthrough simulator, we are able to fully immerse officers into common situations, helping prepare them for a number of different variables with an emphasis on de-escalation,” says Rick Smith, Axon CEO and founder. “Our mission has always been to protect life, and by giving law enforcement the ability to work through the situations they see in the field daily, we can help create outcomes that are better for everyone.”

The VR Simulator provides industry-leading content and allows trainees to work through complex scenarios that have been refined and validated by a diverse network of first responders and subject matter experts. One of the first training modules included at launch will cover domestic violence. It allows officers to actually talk and walk through the scenario as they would in the field, with feedback from trainers and supervisors, allowing them to practice more and enhance their skills, better preparing them for the situations they encounter each day.

The wireless VR headsets, provided by industry leading partner, HTC VIVE and their latest HTC VIVE Focus 3, delivers an all-in-one unit that's simple to deploy and use, with no extraneous hardware, time or space constraints. The VR training provides connectivity for both in-person and remote experiences, creating an on-demand platform that can be accessed anytime instead of at a designated training facility.

Axon’s VR Simulator trainingwill also integrate the TASER 7 device and training handguns, so officers can use real hardware in the virtual world, creating muscle memory and familiar responses in the most critical high-risk situations while leveraging a fully-immersive environment.

The Phoenix Police Department will be the first agency to adopt Axon’s new VR Simulator into its existing training curriculum.

“We are always looking for opportunities to innovate and improve our officers’ abilities to handle various calls for service,” says Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams. “Axon’s new training platform allows our officers to run through scenarios in the safety of a controlled learning environment. This technology lets us train more efficiently, benefiting the responding officer and our community.”

The VR Training seamlessly integrates into an agency’s current training program with connection to the Axon Academy learning management system. The learning objectives and content of Axon Academy and Axon's Community Engagement VR Training feed into the scenarios of the VR Simulator. The Community Engagement VR Training launched in 2018 and is now used by more than one thousand police agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Currently available modules include Schizophrenia, Autism, Suicidal Ideation, Hard of Hearing, Alzheimer’s/ Dementia, Veteran Post-Traumatic Stress Injury, Peer Intervention and Domestic Violence. New content is released each month.

Axon is currently accepting orders for the VR Simulator Training, and will ship to U.S. customers in Q3 2021.




Axon is a network of devices, apps and people that helps public safety personnel become smarter and safer. With a mission of protecting life, our technologies give customers the confidence, focus and time they need to keep their communities safe. Our products impact every aspect of a public safety officer's day-to-day experience with the goal of helping everyone get home safe.

We work hard for those who put themselves in harm's way for all of us. To date, more than 245,000 lives and countless dollars have been saved with the Axon network of devices, apps and people. Learn more at www.axon.com or by calling (800) 978-2737. Axon is a global company with headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. and global software engineering hub in Seattle, Wash., as well as additional offices in Australia, Canada, Finland, Vietnam, the UK and the Netherlands.

Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc., HTC VIVE is a trademark of the HTC Corporation and Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc. Axon, Axon Academy, Axon Evidence, TASER 7 and the Delta Logo are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are registered in the US and other countries. For more information, visit www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.

Follow Axon here:

Axon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/axon_us

Axon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/


Please visit http://investor.axon.com,https://www.axon.com/press,www.twitter.com/axon_us and https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/ where Axon discloses information about the company, its financial information and its business.

For our recent Safe Harbor Statement, please view page 2 of our Investor Relations Presentation HERE.


ARTICLE: VR Simulator Launch Press Release

New simulator training offers complex situations and real-time feedback to provide officers with an immersive training experience

Axon Launches New Virtual Reality Simulator Training for Today's Public Safety Challenges

Axon and RapidSOS recently announced a partnership to deliver real-time data to telecommunicators & first responders. We have a lot in common: our shared mission to protect life, our shared desire to equip public safety with the technology they deserve, and our shared vision to look beyond the status quo. This partnership has roots into the origins of why we entered the emergency communications field in the first place.

When Axon conducted our initial research into the emergency communications space, we toured hundreds of agencies and communications centers around the world. Our goal was to understand their operations, but also to become intimately familiar with both their future ambitions and current frustrations. We found a community of dedicated servants that tirelessly work to keep their communities safe, but were often frustrated by an abundance of unaddressed challenges and tools that were not up to the task.

Within “real-time operations”, three areas emerged as critical - situational awareness, informed collaboration, and operational excellence. We got to work building a platform that incorporated elements of CAD (computer-aided dispatch), but also integrated modern cloud-based capabilities to ingest and distribute real time location, audio, and video streaming from body cameras, vehicle-mounted cameras, drones, and other sources. This was the beginning of Axon Respond, our real-time operations platform.

Throughout our discussions with communication centers, we heard again and again that RapidSOS was a lifesaving solution that had become a critical part of their toolkit. Because of their ability to deliver accurate caller location and other actionable lifesaving data to call takers and dispatchers, in remarkably short period of time they’ve won the adoration of most Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs) across the country.

The idea of providing a true picture of the reporting party was remarkable. RapidSOS has since enabled ECC teams to respond faster and more appropriately - which has been a common aspiration for as long as they have been in existence.

This partnership between Axon and RapidSOS is an exciting leap forward for public safety agencies. With it, dispatchers, supervisors and first responders will be empowered with comprehensive visibility spanning the initial call though to the resolution of the incident in the field. This will lead to faster responses, increased safety for everyone involved, and more effective use of limited resources.

Together with RapidSOS, agencies will be able to choose how they want to access this new situational awareness. They will soon be able to view it within the RapidSOS platform, through Axon Respond for Devices live maps or even combine this visibility with dispatching capabilities within Axon Respond for Dispatch.

We are excited to partner with RapidSOS to make this a reality and look forward to sharing upcoming developments in the months and years ahead. Together we will leverage the power of technology to protect life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Josh Pepper joined Axon in 2018 to create and lead the Dispatch product team, and is now GM of Real Time Operations. Previously at Microsoft, Josh was an innovation consultant to Fortune 500 companies. He then spent several years leading product teams in web search and voice-based digital assistants. Josh went to undergraduate at Carleton College (the same alma mater as Michael Martin, the founder of RapidSOS), received a masters in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.


ARTICLE: Axon and RapidSOS

Axon and RapidSOS: Unlocking Comprehensive Awareness from the Initial Call to Resolution

Phillips W. Smith, Ph.D., was known as Phil to everyone -- including his sons Rick and Tom, the founders of our company. Phil was also instrumental in leading us from a young startup manufacturer of TASER energy weapons, to a publicly traded company, to what we are today: the leading provider of public safety technology solutions.

 Phil was our first Chairman of the Board in 1993, and later Chairman Emeritus in 2006. He advised us with crucial insight, inspired us to make bold tech advances, and pushed us to continually strive for success. There is a painting of him in the lobby of our corporate headquarters.

 Some people have a penchant for success or a bias for action. Phil was the epitome of act now, strike hard, fail fast, learn quick, and strike again. He believed you had to get fired once in your life to learn how to overcome challenges.

 Axon was a company that lost money for the first eight years of its existence. He kept us going with his passion for our mission. His unstoppable drive. His believe-in-yourself intuition and all-hands-on-deck mentality. His trust in the people he worked with. He could be a driving, demanding boss, but he also knew when to say “You guys are smart. You’ll figure it out,” and then walk away. And he knew the importance of taking time to celebrate achievements and victories won. 

 In 2014, Phil had the chance to talk about the challenges and joys of startup life at Broad College. Watch the video and you can feel his spirit. 

 Phil was a West Point graduate and a military man – first as a submariner in the U.S. Navy, then as a pilot and research analyst in the U.S. Air Force. He was a serial entrepreneur in high-tech companies who held corporate officer positions at three Fortune 500 companies. He was a loving husband and father. He is deeply missed today.

 Axon has grown so much, especially in the last five years. Not many of our current employees got to know Phil Smith personally, but the company still exudes his spirit in its culture and through our CEO, Phil’s son, Rick. With Phil’s passing we will take some time to remember our roots, our history and how our culture came to be – and in so doing, we will honor Phil’s memory.

Phil Smith Legacy

Article: Phil Smith Legacy

Phil Smith

ROME, Italy - 9 April 2021 - Axon and Axon Enterprise Italia S.R.L. today announced that the Municipal Police Departments of the cities of Venice and Udine will equip their officers with TASER Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) and Axon Evidence licenses, the digital evidence management platform. Departments will deploy TASER 7 devices, a critical safety and critical situation escalation mitigation tool that can safely address all critical incidents and reduce injuries to both officers and the community. All officers involved will undergo special training before being authorized to use these devices in the field.

"The adoption of the electric pulse weapons with TASER technology was strongly desired by the Administration of the City of Venice, with the dual intent of providing Local Police officers with a protective tool for the management of critical situations and to increase the impact on public safety, thanks to the high deterrent power of these weapons. In a few days will begin the training period, also with staff of AUSSL 3, of the operators who will then test the TASER devices on the field. The experimentation will last 6 months and will involve 2 operators for each shift, who will use the guidelines prepared by the Local Police Command. These guidelines set out in detail all the operational procedures and steps for the use of electric pulse weapons. The use of TASER devices is foreseen in combination with Axon wearable video cameras that are automatically activated when the weapon is taken out of the holster and that, in addition to the evidential value, allow a feedback on the situations of use and the analysis of the adopted behaviors, in order to improve them," said Marco Agostini, General Commander of the Local Police Force of Venice.

"This is a less than lethal weapon that will allow our officers to intervene in critical situations without being forced to use a firearm and that will be added to the equipment of ordinance, recently integrated and that provides, in addition to the gun, the extendable stick and capsicum spray. With this decision, ratified by the City Council, we wanted to provide an additional tool to our staff, going to protect in this way not only their safety put at risk daily in the activity of territorial protection, but also the safety of citizens," says Eros Del Longo, Commander of the Local Police of Udine.

Axon, committed to expanding its presence in Italy and to providing cutting-edge technologies for public safety, is excited to collaborate with the Municipal Police of Venice and Udine for the use of TASER technology.

TASER 7 is the most effective electrically conductive TASER device ever made, with services seamlessly integrated into Axon Evidence. All TASER 7 units come with battery docks, which allow them to be charged and upload TASER device usage data within Axon Evidence, similar to the "dock and walk" system that agencies implement in conjunction with Axon's wearable cameras.

"It is with pleasure that we announce that the local police forces of Venice and Udine are the first in the country to use TASER electrically conductive devices," says Loris Angeloni, Managing Director of Axon in Italy. "This is a key partnership that will pave the way for other Italian Local Police Commands to widely use TASER devices in Italy and help ensure public safety and officer protection. Axon is pleased to provide TASER technology in Italy and to help the Municipal Police pursue their goals of providing better services to citizens and communities, which will undoubtedly be greatly appreciated by society and officers."

For more information, visit TASER 7 and Axon Evidence.

Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc. and Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc. Axon, Axon Evidence, TASER, and TASER 7 are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are registered in the US and other countries. For more information, visit https://www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.



ARTICLE: Local Police Forces of Venice and Udine are the First to Adopt TASER Devices in Italy

TASER less-than-lethal weapons enhance officer and citizen safety

Local Police Forces of Venice and Udine are the First to Adopt TASER Devices in Italy

In a world of software and services, Axon products and solutions address critical agency needs. Delivering a comprehensive end-to-end experience often relies upon the integration of Axon products with other systems and applications. Up until now, access to Axon Evidence APIs required customers to upgrade to a Premium license, complete an NDA, and request that their Evidence instance be enabled for API access. In listening to our customers and our partners, we have been working on a new approach.

On March 23, Axon will be changing our policies to help customers unlock increased value from their Axon investments by enabling platform integration capabilities for all of our customers.

First, Axon will be updating the default setting to enable all agencies to utilize Axon Evidence APIs, irrespective of their license tier. Evidence.com admins will now see a setting on the Security Settings section of their Admin page which they can use to create and manage their application client keys (as indicated by the arrow in the image below).


Second, additional formal agreements are no longer required to access this functionality and create or manage API client keys. This scenario applies to any agency integrating client applications and services from a third party, that does not need any coding or integration scripting of their own.

Third, for agencies that require the ability to actively code against Axon APIs, Axon has deployed a new formal Terms of Service (ToS) agreement that may be accessed and executed from within the MyAxon.com portal, as part of the Axon Developer Community forum. You can learn more about the Axon Developer Community and how to enroll at our blog.

We believe that these three changes will help expand Axon customer capabilities while reducing overhead, and lead to a richer ecosystem of solutions that can benefit a greater number of Axon customers.


Q: Does this weaken my site security?
A: Enabling admin navigation to a page for the creation and management of Client API access keys does not create a security liability for your Evidence.com instance. If no keys are created then the site essentially remains unchanged. As is always the case, when creating keys Axon strongly advises following a few best practices:


Only integrate secure and trusted software with your Axon Evidence instance.

When creating keys, restrict permissions to the minimal set of permissions required by the integrating software to achieve your purpose and avoid adding extra permissions that might be “nice-to-have” or “just in case”.

Store the Client API access key in a secure location and do not share any of the details.

Generate unique Client API access keys for every software integration.

Delete Client API access keys as soon as the underlying integration is no longer required.

Q: Will these changes affect my Basic license?
A: No. If you were previously a Premium license customer you will be unaffected. If you were previously a Basic license customer, you will remain a Basic license customer.

Q: I previously signed the NDA. Do I need to sign the new ToS agreement?
A: Yes. The new ToS agreement provides superior protections to any agency that employs contractors or third parties to perform integrations or make use of Axon APIs.

Q: Do I need to join the Axon Developer Community forum and sign the ToS if my agency is only deploying applications and services from others but not developing any of our own?
A: No, you do not need to as long as your agency actions are limited to creating Client API access keys to integrate the offering with your instance of Evidence.com.

Q: What if I want to see the ToS and am willing to sign it but don’t want to join the Axon Developer Community forum on MyAxon.com?
A: For special requests, you can always engage your Customer Success Manager and request their assistance.


ARTICLE: Access to APIs

Changing Access to Axon's Partner APIs

Axon, the global leader in connected public safety technologies, is bringing its suite of advanced technology solutions to commercial and private security markets. These industries are now able to benefit from the same transparency and efficiency capabilities that the Axon Network is driving in public safety. Solutions include body-worn cameras for complete transparency and certainty, and Axon’s cloud platform to drive efficiency and quality through smarter digital asset management. The real-time operations platform makes it easy to capture, store, manage and share data.

With a proven history protecting people and assets across the globe, you can count on Axon technologies to provide certainty and clarity for your organization. Axon has deep experience creating some of the most advanced connected devices in the world, and managing huge amounts of data being produced by those devices. Our history managing connected devices and enormous amounts of data can help you stay more connected with and aware of worker, asset and facility status. The Axon data management platform enables you to aggregate video, image, audio and document data to streamline processes and view and manage all your important information in a single place.

Designed to be adaptable from close consultation with our strategic partners, Axon’s leading technology suite is helping commercial and security companies streamline and improve operations and customer interactions. The advantages offered include:


Quality- Axon cameras drive quality and compliance through insight and transparency into employee behavior, operations, site or facility status and incidents. The Axon data management platform makes it easy to share best practices and quality information across multiple organizations and sites. 

Insight- Whether it’s tracking loss prevention, reviewing safety incidents, or providing proof to customers and partners, video documentation with an iron-clad audit trail dispels any uncertainty. Providing indisputable insight is also key to meeting regulatory and compliance standards. 

Security- Protect people, facilities and assets with body cameras and the leading non-lethal de-escalation tool, the TASER 7 device. Studies have shown that body-worn cameras have a positive effect in de-escalating situations, reducing use of force and enhancing trust and transparency.

Efficiency- Axon’s data management platform streamlines management and sharing of data. The real-time operations platform provides highly secure and compliant data management capabilities ensuring even the most sensitive or highly regulated industries can confidently store and manage data. 

Here’s what a few of our customers have to say about how the Axon Network is benefiting them:

Transport for Wales’ Continuous Improvement Manager Chris Watkins said: “While the railway is already a very safe environment to travel in, we want to give our customers and colleagues that added piece of mind that their safety comes first. Axon cameras will add transparency to ensure any incident claims can be quickly and accurately verified.”

Josh Wise, the CEO of GrassRoots, is using Axon video technology to provide proof of work to customers. “In response to a customer complaint, we sent the Axon video to provide proof of proper completion. The customer was extremely happy and wrote a 5-star review about how awesome we were as a company. That’s just a whole new thing that comes with the cameras, being able to provide a great experience for the customer so they go and refer new customers to us.”

“Axon’s innovative technology makes it easier for organizations to be safer and more efficient,” says John Wolter, Chief of Police at Texas Medical Center. “The ability to transparently and quickly provide feedback has improved communication - not only with officers but with the wider community. Axon’s one-stop-shop makes sense for our organization, and we have benefited from implementing this technology.”

Axon is working with security and commercial customers to implement Axon technologies to improve data management and drive more value for their customers. If interested in implementing Axon products at your security company, or in participating in a commercial trial please contact: enterprisesolutions@axon.com. 


ARTICLE: Axon Expands into Comercial and Private Security

Axon Expands into Commercial and Private Security Sectors

Jacob Furst is a drone guy. He has been flying drones recreationally since 2016 and works as the Customer Success and Operations Manager for Axon Air, and so it comes as no surprise that when the Axon Aid team began to take shape, Jacob signed on as the Chief Pilot and Head of Training.

Axon Aid is Axon’s charitable arm, and a large portion of the work Aid does centers around disaster response. “When I first joined Axon, I vividly remember seeing Isabella Giannini in the office one day taking inventory of the Axon Aid drone hardware” Furst recalls. “I approached her and asked what she was doing. She explained the concept of [Axon Aid]...a fully charitable emergency response team helping support local communities and agencies in times of need.”

Furst was immediately intrigued, and once he learned Axon Aid planned to use drone technology for disaster scene reconstruction and search and rescue, he decided to join the team. “At Axon we view drones as a force multiplier...the 3 main drone use cases we see today in law enforcement are Search & Rescue operations (SARs), Crash, Crime and Disaster Scene Reconstruction, and SWAT as a tactical tool to help keep officers safe in high risk situations.”

When many people think of drones, they just picture the hardware. The image that comes to their mind is a remote controlled toy. But the drone industry is growing rapidly, both in terms of hardware and software capabilities. “Livestreaming software allows for low latency and reliable way for decision makers to get the most accurate and real time information. Obstacle avoidance software improves the safety of the pilot and the local community by ensuring the drone doesn't collide with objects” Furst explains. 

Less obvious use cases for drones include using speaker attachments to help ensure social distancing, utilizing drone attachment modules to delivery medicine to rural areas, and even using the propeller rotor wash to create fresh air bubbles around hikers or citizens trapped in wild fires amid high smoke density. “The variety and use cases for drones are endless. I am continuously impressed with all the different ways agencies are using drones to help support their communities and continue to see the value they bring.”

Yet in the case of Axon Aid, Furst was quick to note that high-tech products aren’t the most impressive part of the operation. He finds the most powerful aspect of Axon Aid is the fact that it is 100% charitable. “The last thing agencies or communities need to be thinking about in the wake of a disaster is ‘how am I going to pay for [help]?!’...Seeing the faces of the community members and law enforcement when we show up to support them is the best feeling ever.”


For more information, visit https://www.axon.com/aid

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