THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING
Gov CIO Outlook Weekly Brief
Be first to read the latest tech news, Industry Leader's Insights, and CIO interviews of medium and large enterprises exclusively from Gov CIO Outlook
Deanna Cantrell, Director of Law Enforcement Partnerships, AxonDeanna Cantrell is the Director of Law Enforcement Partnerships for Axon. She is responsible for developing and fostering customer and partner relationships in the Western United States. Deanna brings with her 30 years of municipal government leadership, passion and experience. Before joining Axon, Deanna served as Chief of Police in Fairfield, CA, and earlier as Chief in San Luis Obispo after a 22-year career with the Mesa, AZ Police Department, where she rose from Officer to Assistant Chief. She later supported the Redlands, CA Police Department on culture, recruiting, retention, wellness and professional standards and worked as an Executive Recruiter with Bob Murray and Associates following her retirement.
Through this article, Cantrell shares how her lifelong commitment to public safety informs her perspective on the widening gap between criminal innovation and law enforcement readiness and why adaptive leadership is now essential for the future of policing.
Where My Passion for Public Safety Meets My Purpose as a Leader
A commitment to reducing victimization through public safety and talent development has guided my career for many years. Coaching, public speaking and leadership development have been central to my work, supported by my certification as an Executive Coach through Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching.
Meaningful time was spent with California Women Leaders in Law Enforcement, where I served as Co-Chair, Foundation Board President and chair of the statewide mentoring committee. Six years on the California Police Chiefs Association Board further expanded my involvement in shaping leadership standards. I continue to stay connected to the profession as an Executive Fellow with the National Policing Institute and as a board member for Police2Peace and the Future Policing Institute. Honors such as the 24th District Congressional Woman of the Year and the WLLE Excellence in Leadership Award remain deeply appreciated.
My academic foundation includes a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Administration from Northern Arizona University, and I carry that forward by teaching for CA POST at Cal State University Long Beach and at Northwestern University’s Police Staff and Command School.
Staying Ahead of Crimes and Criminals That Think Faster Than We Do
As we approach 2026, policing leaders are confronting a widening gap between the pace of criminal innovation and the readiness of law enforcement to respond.
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, cyber tools and digital platforms has fueled new forms of crime, from AI-generated deepfakes and voice impersonation scams to autonomous malware and AI-assisted fraud schemes. According to INTERPOL’s Future of Policing Congress report (2023), these technologies have already transformed how organized crime networks operate across jurisdictions, outpacing traditional investigative capacities. Criminals are exploiting AI’s scalability and precision faster than most agencies can adapt, forcing law enforcement to operate in a reactive posture rather than a predictive one.
“The future of policing will not be determined by who has the most advanced tools, but by who can use them wisely, ethically and fast enough to make a difference.”
In this new landscape, the speed of adaptation, not the size of the department, will increasingly determine effectiveness.
Despite progress in modernization, law enforcement remains constrained by outdated systems, data silos and risk-averse organizational cultures (National Institute of Justice [NIJ], 2022). Procurement and policy processes often lag behind the commercial technology sector, while short-term enforcement demands compete with long-term capability building. Ethical and legal concerns related to surveillance and AI bias create further hesitation, leaving agencies cautious while adversaries act decisively (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], 2024). This creates what experts call a readiness gap, where innovation outstrips institutional agility and exposes vulnerabilities that criminals are quick to exploit (Group-IB, 2024).
Policing leaders must now treat technology as a core strategic function rather than a peripheral tool. Bridging this readiness gap requires intentional investment in digital literacy, interagency collaboration and governance frameworks that balance innovation with civil rights (Police Executive Research Forum [PERF], 2023). Chiefs and sheriffs will need to build adaptive cultures where experimentation is encouraged, partnerships with technology companies are normalized and collaboration across jurisdictions becomes the standard. As TRM Labs (2024) warns, the next wave of AI-enabled crime will emerge faster and more sophisticated than ever before. The future of public safety will hinge not only on law enforcement’s ability to enforce the law, but on its willingness to evolve as rapidly as the threats it faces.
Closing the Readiness Gap: Three Strategic Imperatives
1. Invest in People, Not Just Platforms
Technology adoption fails when agencies focus on the tools rather than the talent behind them. Agencies must prioritize digital literacy across all ranks, not just within cyber or IT units. Partnerships with universities, tech companies and federal labs can accelerate this learning. As the NIJ (2022) emphasizes, workforce preparedness is the cornerstone of sustainable technology integration.
2. Build Agile Governance and Funding Models
Traditional procurement processes are too rigid for the pace of technological change. Agencies need funding models that support experimentation, pilot programs and iterative evaluation rather than long-term, monolithic contracts. Governments can establish innovation sandboxes, controlled environments for testing new technologies under ethical and legal supervision before large-scale adoption. Policymakers should also streamline approval pathways for noninvasive AI tools to ensure accountability without slowing innovation.
3. Create a Unified Digital Policing Ecosystem
Criminal networks have already mastered transnational collaboration; law enforcement must respond in kind. Partnerships that share data, analytics tools and cyber threat intelligence can close the fragmentation that slows investigations. National or regional fusion centers, supported by standardized data protocols and shared AI platforms, can enable rapid pattern recognition across cases and borders. Collaboration with private sector cybersecurity firms and financial institutions expands investigative reach into the digital underground.
Ultimately, the readiness gap is not merely a technology problem; it is a leadership problem. It reflects how quickly law enforcement organizations can learn, adapt and lead in an era defined by complexity. The leaders who succeed will be those who build cultures that embrace innovation, protect civil liberties and align people, policy and technology toward a shared purpose.
The future of policing will not be determined by who has the most advanced tools, but by who can use them wisely, ethically and quickly enough to make a difference.
Read Also
