Daniel Francis, who once accidentally landed a job by impersonating a laid-off Twitter employee, has now pivoted to become the founder of a police AI startup. His company, Abel, is dedicated to leveraging artificial intelligence technology to assist police officers in filling out reports, thereby saving law enforcement resources.
During a research study, Francis accompanied a police officer on patrol. He witnessed firsthand the extensive time and effort required for police to complete reports during a thrilling pursuit, which deeply moved him. He realized that AI could play a significant role in this area.
Francis founded Abel and developed an AI system that can automatically generate police reports by analyzing body camera footage and dispatch call data. It is reported that the Abel system has been deployed in the police department of Richmond, California, and has received positive feedback. Officers have noted that using the Abel system allows them to save time that would have been spent on report writing and focus on more critical police work.
Francis expressed his hope that Abel would alleviate the paperwork burden on police officers, allowing them to devote more time and energy to protecting community safety.
Abel has secured $5 million in seed funding led by Day One Ventures, with participation from Long Journey Ventures and Y Combinator. Francis plans to use this funding to further refine the Abel system and expand its deployment to police departments in more regions.
It's worth noting that Abel is not the only company working on developing AI police report systems. Several companies, including Taser and body camera manufacturer Axon, are also developing similar products. Francis believes that as AI technology continues to evolve, law enforcement will become more efficient and intelligent.