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In public safety, every second counts.
This truth is incredibly clear during real-time incident response. A few seconds can mean the difference between life and death for a missing child, a retail crime spree in motion, or an active shooter situation. To respond with both speed and clarity, officers need the right information at the right time.
That’s exactly what Axon delivers.
The Axon Fusus Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) acts as a centralized hub for real-time operations, connecting a wide variety of public safety technology into one intuitive platform. From livestreaming body cameras to drone deployments to community camera integrations, Axon enables smarter, faster, and safer decisions.
In this article, we’ll break down the components of Axon’s real-time response ecosystem and explore how our integrated approach provides a complete platform that supports every phase of incident response, from the first alert to the final report.
Challenges in public safety
National data underscores the need for real-time information. For instance, retailers reported a 93% increase in shoplifting incidents in 2023 compared to 2019. There was also a 57% year-over-year rise in Organized Retail Crime (ORC) incidents, significantly affecting both the safety of employees and the financials of businesses.
Over 75% of crimes involve a vehicle, which means many of these retail thefts or other crimes involve people moving fast across county and even state lines. Studies have shown that the faster the police respond, the more likely they are to solve a crime.
And yet, most police departments are understaffed. In fact, the Axon AI Trends Report found that only 14% of agencies are fully staffed. The question must be asked, how can understaffed agencies improve response time and leverage the exponentially available data to solve crimes in real-time?
This is the power of a modernized real-time crime center. Agencies need tools that not only capture the data, but transform disconnected data into live, actionable insight right when officers need it most. This solution can help ensure officers go to the right location, track a suspects movement in their vehicle across city and county borders, and even deploy drones that arrive at the scene in record time.
Real-time crime centers are more than a trend, they are essential to mission success in today’s public safety landscape.
In cities like Atlanta, West Palm Beach, and Cobb County, departments have reported major investigative breakthroughs powered by real-time intelligence. In West Palm Beach, Lt. Clifford Hagan said the RTCC generates major leads for "probably half our homicides." In Cobb County, clearance rates for homicides hit 100% in both 2021 and 2022 thanks to real-time tools.
One moment in Atlanta shows exactly what is possible when every layer of response is working together.
Customer story: the Atlanta Midtown shooter
On May 3, 2023, a shooter opened fire in Midtown Atlanta before fleeing the scene. With lives at stake, every moment mattered. Cobb County PD Captain Hull recalled a previous shooting in 2005 where, ”Every officer was sitting on the side of the road with a picture, watching cars drive by. It wasn’t efficient or effective, but it was the best we could do.”
Contrast this with 2023, where officers were no longer guessing. They had the context to act fast, connect leads, and coordinate across teams in real time.
Atlanta PD officers, using Axon Fusus, identified the suspect stealing a vehicle and noted the license plate. From there, integrated camera feeds, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) alerts, and data sharing across jurisdictions allowed Cobb County PD officers to locate, track and apprehend the suspect in just six hours.
The result was one coordinated operation, one suspect in custody, and a safer outcome for everyone involved. It’s a powerful story, and you can read more here or watch the video to learn more:
What agencies gain with a real-time crime center
Cross-jurisdictional collaboration
Real-time data sharing across city, county and even state lines enables seamless coordination between agencies. This enhances the ability to track suspects, recover stolen property and prevent crimes from escalating.
Higher case clearance rates
With immediate access to evidence, suspect movements and community-contributed video feeds, investigators can identify leads sooner and resolve cases faster—boosting clearance rates for major crimes.
Efficient resource allocation
RTCCs help agencies optimize their response. Instead of dispatching multiple officers blindly, command staff can assess the situation remotely and deploy the right resources, reducing strain on personnel.
Improved officer and community safety
Real-time visibility into scenes—via drones, livestreaming body cameras or fixed ALPRs—helps identify threats, de-escalate tensions and avoid unnecessary risks. This protects both first responders and the communities they serve.
Community engagement and transparency
RTCCs foster public trust by promoting transparency and shared responsibility in public safety. When communities understand how real-time tools are used—and see results—they are more likely to support and participate in safety initiatives. Empowering residents to play an active role strengthens the bond between law enforcement and the people they serve, creating a safer, more unified community.
Key components of a real-time crime center
Modern real-time crime centers look different in every agency. Some have a wall of screens. Others access live data on a phone in the field. The key is to bring together a wide variety of data sources into a single pane of glass.
Let’s explore some of the key components of a real-time crime center.
Axon Fusus: The Single Pane of Glass
Axon Fusus is the foundation of Axon’s real-time response platform. It brings together all the sensors and data sources—from body-worn cameras to drones, ALPRs to CAD—into one seamless interface.
By eliminating silos between agencies, technologies, and jurisdictions, Fusus ensures everyone works from a single, consistent operating picture-. This unified view increases situational awareness, reduces response time, and simplifies complex incidents.
Fusus is a cloud-based solution, which means it doesn’t matter if you are in the field or in the RTCC, responders can access live intelligence using any connected device. Axon Fusus brings together the information you need to act quickly, decisively, and with the full picture in view.
Axon connected cameras
Axon cameras go beyond recording, they actively support real-time response. Each device is location-aware, livestream-capable, and fully integrated with the RTCC.
Axon Body 4 enables livestreaming from the field, real-time alerts, and even bi-directional communication with mental health specialists or command staff. Officers can tap a button to request drone support or use Axon Assistant to translate their conversations with non-English speakers.
Axon Fleet 3 cameras turn every patrol unit into a rolling intelligence node, with ALPR functionality, vehicle detection, and livestream support. Both Fleet 3 cameras and Axon Body Cameras can start recording automatically thanks to Axon Signal technology.
Axon Outpost combines livestreaming, ALPR and vehicle recognition in one stationary device. Officers don’t just get a license plate hit, they get the full picture in real time. This fixed ALPR solution provides the information agencies need to act faster and respond smarter.
Axon Lightpost turns streetlights into real-time detection tools, combining ALPR and livestreaming in a fast-to-deploy form factor. Thanks to our partner Ubicquia, it’s a streamlined way to expand coverage without new poles, trenching, or delays.
Drone as First Responder (DFR)
Axon Air DFR gives agencies a new kind of first response. It is fast, autonomous, and often reaches the scene before ground units. Built in partnership with Skydio, this program is reshaping how public safety teams respond to critical calls.
When a 911 call comes in, drones can be launched immediately and navigate autonomously to the scene. This early visibility helps officers assess risk, identify threats, and coordinate a safer, more effective response.
Axon Air brings hardware, software, and autonomy together in one seamless platform. The Skydio X10 drone features AI-powered navigation, NightSense for zero-light operations, advanced sensors including thermal imaging, cellular connectivity, and up to 40 minutes of flight time. It delivers unmatched situational awareness in the moments that matter most.
Integrated with Dedrone by Axon, the system also provides full airspace awareness and supports FAA-compliant flight operations through DedroneBeyond. This enables safe, autonomous drone flights at altitudes of up to 400 feet, even in complex or high-traffic environments.
DFR programs can significantly reduce the need for on-scene response. Agencies report that up to thirty percent of incidents can now be resolved remotely. Instead of waiting for backup or approaching with limited context, officers can see the scene from above, identify potential risks, and adjust their response with greater precision. Because Axon Air is integrated with Fusus, drone feeds appear alongside other data sources in a unified operational view.
Whether supporting search and rescue, active threats, traffic incidents, or large events, Axon’s DFR platform is expanding what is possible in public safety. It helps agencies respond faster, with more context, and with greater confidence in every decision.
Works with Axon Camera Network
The Works with Axon (WWA) program certifies third-party cameras for seamless use within the Axon ecosystem. Agencies can choose the best camera for each deployment, whether from Axon or another leading manufacturer, while maintaining full integration with the Axon Fusus platform.
WWA-certified devices are automatically recognized by the system, appear on the Fusus map, support smart search, and integrate into AI-powered workflows alongside Axon hardware. These cameras meet Axon’s standards for security, performance, and interoperability, giving agencies confidence in their deployment choices.
Designed for quick, self-service setup, WWA devices eliminate the need for complex IT support, making it easy to scale a connected, real-time infrastructure without compromise.
View the Works with Axon Partner network
Integrated Partner Network
At Axon, we believe public safety technology works best when it works together. That’s why we are committed to an interoperable ecosystem, uniting industry-leading partners to enhance capabilities, streamline workflows, and provide seamless access to critical data.
While Works with Axon certifies plug-and-play devices, our broader partner network ensures that even custom integrations can operate within the Axon ecosystem. This commitment to flexibility prevents vendor lock-in and ensures your RTCC evolves with your mission.
Our technology integration partners connect agency and third-party sensors and data into a single, intuitive platform. Through our open API framework, agencies can integrate a wide range of their existing technologies into their RTCC—from CAD and RMS to gunshot detection, drone radar, and IoT sensors.
View our Integrated Partner List
Community Connect Program
Axon Community Connect allows businesses and residents to voluntarily register or integrate their security cameras with law enforcement. In cities like Atlanta, more than 40,000 community cameras now stream into the Real-Time Crime Center. That scale fuels investigations, strengthens trust, and expands visibility without additional cost.
How does it work? Just drop a CORE device onto any public or private video network. Once connected, within seconds the CORE detects, analyzes and connects to every camera on the building's network and builds a separate unified feed to your web-based Fusus account. The CORE device is compatible with a wide range of IP security cameras and is controlled and configured using the Fusus dashboard. Policy-based sharing means the camera owner decides when they want to share livestream-continuously, on emergency, or at any other time they designate.
These additional feeds extend visibility into areas agencies may not otherwise cover, accelerating investigations and response. As participation grows, so does the power of your real-time operations.
Learn more about our Community Connect Program
Tools for the field
Technology can provide significantly helpful information, but in the end, human officers must make the decisions and act upon that information. As Cobb County police chief, Stuart VanHoozer, said about the Atlanta shooter event, “Technology doesn’t do any good without people who are determined to capture an individual that would do something like this. Today, we saw those two things come together in an amazing way.”
Officers carry tremendous responsibility, and Axon is here to assist them with the tools and intelligence to move faster and stay safer in every moment that matters.
TASER 10
The TASER 10 is an energy weapon with vastly increased accuracy and effectiveness. With a maximum range of 45 feet and 10 probes, TASER 10 gives officers more time to assess and stop a threat, decreasing the likelihood of escalation to lethal force.
TASER 10 integrates with Axon’s ecosystem of connected software and devices to help users resolve emergency calls safely and quickly. Combined with industry-leading training and reporting, TASER 10 can be counted on to keep our communities and public safety officers safer.
Learn more about TASER 10
Axon Assistant
Built into Axon Body 4, Axon Assistant is an AI voice companion that provides officers with real-time translation, policy lookup, and contextual support in the field. More skills (e.g., license plate lookup) are planned for the future.
These skills can provide officers in the field with the information they need incredibly quickly, all while keeping their eyes up and on the situation.
Learn more about Axon Assistant
Sky-Hero Tactical Robotics
Sky-Hero by Axon delivers vital information in high-risk scenarios. Our Indoor robotic systems include uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cameras to accelerate data acquisition and improve surveillance.
Sky-Hero is an ideal solution for room-clearing, reconnaissance, and safe search in confined or high-risk environments. Rather than sending officers into a building with potentially dangerous people and no information, you can send in a Sky-Hero device and get eyes on the scene, making decisions that help protect life.
My90 by Axon
Community Trust is a key element of building an effective real-time crime center. This can be built through the Community Connect Program, transparency on how and when real-time tools are being used, and a number of other activities.
My90 by Axon is a community feedback and engagement tool that collects surveys post-contact or citywide to support transparency, equity, and trust. By engaging and listening to community members, agencies can identify opportunities for training, policy changes, and even where to allocate resources.
My90 also enables command staff to survey their employees, gaining keen insights into the wellness of their officers. This anonymous survey data can help identify needs in the agency that, when met, can improve officer safety and performance.
Learn more about My90 by Axon
Conclusion
Real-time response is no longer a nice-to-have, it's a necessity. And with Axon, it’s more accessible, scalable, and impactful than ever before.
By bringing together cameras, drones, alerts, and community engagement into a unified platform, Axon helps agencies respond faster, make smarter decisions, and keep people safer.
When every second counts, count on Axon.
See how your agency can respond faster, stay better connected and protect more lives: Schedule a demo today.