Semafor World Economy Summit 2026• May 1, 2026• 15:42ConferenceInterview

Flock Safety Founder and CEO Garrett Langley at Semafor World Economy

From Semafor World Economy Summit 2026 · 2026

Garrett Langley•Founder and CEO, Flock Safety

Executive Summary

Flock Safety provides a network of sensors, cameras, and drones, orchestrated by its Flock OS, to help law enforcement increase the probability of catching criminals, which the CEO argues is the primary deterrent to crime.
The company navigates the privacy vs.
security debate by implementing a default 30-day data retention policy, encouraging legislative oversight, and focusing exclusively on partnerships with local law enforcement rather than the federal government.
CEO Garrett Langley discusses the significant challenges of onshoring manufacturing for complex hardware like drones, citing difficulties in sourcing even basic components like bolts in the US and predicting a decade-long transition for a fully domestic supply chain.
Flock's partnership with Amazon was terminated following a controversial Super Bowl ad run by Amazon's Ring, but Langley believes a future partnership is inevitable due to their shared focus on public safety.

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Concerns Raised

Public and political backlash over privacy and the use of surveillance data by federal agencies like ICE.
Significant, long-term challenges in establishing a price-competitive and fully domestic supply chain for hardware manufacturing.
Reputational risk from high-profile corporate partnerships, as demonstrated by the Amazon/Ring incident.

Opportunities Identified

Large, untapped market with 18,000 US law enforcement agencies, of which Flock is currently in over 5,000.
Increasing demand for technology solutions as law enforcement agencies face persistent staffing shortages.
Expansion of the Flock OS platform to integrate a wider array of security hardware, creating a comprehensive public safety ecosystem.

Key Themes

The Privacy vs. Security Trade-off

The discussion centers on the societal tension between the desire for public safety and the fear of a surveillance state. Flock Safety positions its technology as a tool to solve crime by increasing the certainty of capture, while implementing safeguards like a 30-day data retention policy to mitigate privacy risks.

This is the core ethical and market challenge for any company in the surveillance and security technology space. Public perception, regulatory acceptance, and market adoption hinge on successfully navigating this balance.

The Role of Technology in Law Enforcement

The CEO argues that technology is a critical force multiplier for modern policing, especially as law enforcement agencies face recruitment challenges and low clearance rates for major crimes. Flock's products are presented as an essential tool to help understaffed departments operate more effectively and solve more cases.

This highlights a major growth driver for GovTech and security technology companies. As traditional public service models are strained, technology becomes a critical, non-discretionary spend for municipalities seeking to maintain public safety.

Navigating Jurisdictional and Political Complexity

Flock Safety deliberately avoids direct contracts with the US federal government, instead partnering with thousands of local municipalities. This strategy allows the company to sidestep direct involvement in contentious federal issues like immigration enforcement, though it acknowledges federal agencies can still request data from its local partners.

This illustrates a key go-to-market strategy for companies in politically sensitive sectors. Focusing on local jurisdictions can de-risk the business and create a more fragmented but potentially more stable and scalable customer base.

The Challenges of Onshoring US Manufacturing

Using Flock's drone manufacturing as an example, the CEO details the deep-seated difficulties in creating a fully domestic supply chain. He points out that even simple components like high-quality, price-competitive bolts are hard to source in the US, predicting it will take nearly a decade to build a resilient, vertically integrated manufacturing base.

This provides a practical, ground-level perspective on the broader geopolitical and economic trend of reshoring. It underscores that while the ambition is strong, the execution faces significant logistical and economic hurdles that will take years to overcome.

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Topics

Public Safety Surveillance Technology Privacy vs. Security Law Enforcement Technology GovTech Flock Safety Drone Manufacturing Onshoring Supply Chain Management US Manufacturing Data Retention Policy Local Government Federal Government Corporate Partnerships Amazon Ring

Processed May 10, 2026 yt-dlp + mlx-whisper + Gemini

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