Press Release
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Axon, the global public safety technology leader, today launched a new generation of body cameras designed for frontline workers in retail stores and healthcare facilities. Axon Body Workforce adapts the same life-saving technology trusted by more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies around the world for enterprise organizations, helping them protect their most valuable resources — people. Available for purchase today in the U.S., Australia, Canada, EU, and U.K., Axon Body Workforce is lightweight, customizable and integrated with Axon’s industry-leading real-time operations and evidence management technology.
“Public safety is about just that — people feeling and being safe in public, including while at work,” said Axon CEO and Founder Rick Smith. “That’s why Axon Body Workforce is so critical to our mission to protect life. It marks a new chapter in body-worn cameras, built to address the workplace violence affecting frontline workers.”
Every day, retail workers perform their duties while grappling with threats to their personal safety. A recent survey by Axon found that in the U.S., a staggering 47% of retail workers have experienced violent incidents on the job. Axon Body Workforce has been trialed by some of the largest healthcare networks and global retailers, demonstrating early success in deterrence and de-escalation. One trial retailer saw a net 53% reduction in incidents, while another reported 47% of active incidents being effectively de-escalated after activating recordings on the camera.
“The new Axon Body Workforce body-worn camera is not only useful for promoting frontline workers’ safety, but also aids law enforcement agencies responding to the recent rise in violence in healthcare, retail and other commercial settings by providing easily accessible digital evidence,” said Former Chief of the Dallas Police Department Renee Hall. “This solution shows Axon’s continued commitment to keeping our communities secure as public safety challenges evolve.”
Safety for Every Shift
Axon Body Workforce features the quality hardware of Axon body cameras alongside Axon’s robust real-time capabilities and simple evidence management workflows, making it easier to act on captured footage. Benefits of Axon Body Workforce include:
- Deterring and De-escalating Incidents: Protects employees by capturing high-quality video evidence of employee-customer interactions, while also respecting their privacy. With a simple double tap activation that is lightweight for wearing, employees can easily ensure all critical moments are recorded by Axon Body Workforce.
- Supporting in Real-Time: Equips employees with a communications beacon to protect themselves with situational awareness, allowing for quicker and more effective interventions. Axon Respond’s live capabilities enable employees to ask for help in the moment, while having a camera present encourages better behavior and discourages crime in the workplace.
- Promoting Transparency: Manage high-quality, easily searchable footage in Axon Evidence to gain transparency into all interactions. Upload, manage and share footage internally and externally with Law Enforcement and District Attorneys to ensure teams are staying safe and to expedite the path from incident to adjudication. Further, this evidence can uphold internal standards, clear up claims or disputes, and build a library of in-field footage for ongoing training.
Early Beginnings in Enhancing Hospital Security
Axon formed the Enterprise team in 2020 to serve the needs of healthcare facilities that saw a marked increase in incidents during the start of the coronavirus pandemic. On average, two nurses every hour are assaulted in the U.S., and nurses are nine times more likely to experience workplace violence than any other profession. Today, Axon’s technology is represented in 33% of hospitals in the U.S., covering more than five million care providers and patients. Results have shown that through widespread adoption of body cameras, healthcare centers are realizing compelling benefits, including a decrease in litigation costs. Of note, Axon customers see operational data management time cut almost in half.
“After deploying Axon’s technology over the past few years in our healthcare centers, I have come to see body-worn cameras as an essential tool for successful interactions between our care providers, patients and visitors,” said Legacy Health Director of Safety and Security Services Luke Heckathorn. “We welcome Axon’s development of technology customized for our environment and the safety of our frontline workers.”
Following the introduction of Axon Body Workforce, Axon will continue to partner with healthcare environments, retailers, industry experts, and trade associations alongside law enforcement to help shape the future of safety and security for frontline workers. Axon is committed to forming meaningful partnerships in efforts to protect frontline workers, support essential organizations in society and ultimately improve the safety of our communities.
About Axon
Axon is the technology leader in global public safety. Our moonshot goal is to cut gun-related deaths between police and the public in the U.S. by 50% before 2033. Axon is building the public safety operating system of the future by integrating hardware devices and cloud software solutions that lead modern policing, defense and security. The Axon Ecosystem includes TASER energy devices, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, cloud-hosted digital evidence management solutions, productivity software, real-time operations capabilities and third-party integrations through Axon’s partner network. Axon’s growing global customer base includes first responders across international, federal, state and local law enforcement, fire, corrections and emergency medical services, as well as the justice sector, commercial enterprises and consumers.