The a16z Show: "The Crime Crisis In America and How Technology Fixes It"
Date: December 17, 2025
Guests: Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Garrett Langley (Founder & CEO, Flock Safety)
Host: a16z
Episode Overview
This episode explores the rising crime crisis in American cities and poses a provocative question: What if a city aimed to eliminate crime instead of merely managing it? The conversation, featuring Garrett Langley of Flock Safety, Marc Andreessen, and Ben Horowitz, examines how technology—ranging from surveillance, AI, and drones to public/private partnerships—can radically reshape public safety, accountability, and trust. The dialogue candidly addresses the complexities around policing culture, recruitment, criminal justice reform, privacy, and the socioeconomic impacts of crime.
Major Themes & Key Discussion Points
1. The Current Crime Crisis and Policy Choices
- Lost Generations: Failure to effectively deter crime results in societal losses, incentivizing criminal careers, especially where social stigma is absent ([00:00]; [13:03]).
- Trade-offs: The only options are tolerating high levels of crime, harsh punishments (Singapore/El Salvador models), or using intelligence and technology for deterrence ([10:03]).
Marc Andreessen [13:07]:
"We're throwing people away...with minimum sentencing and everything, it’s very hard to go to prison and come out. Then you have this black mark...That’s the worst possible thing. So the best thing is to say, 'Hey look, if you commit crimes, you’re going to get caught.' And then that changes the societal incentives and the culture and everything else."
2. Staffing and Cultural Crisis in Policing
- Idea: Teach for America–style Policing: Propose a national service program forgiving student debt in exchange for service as police, addressing staffing crises and elevating the profession’s status ([03:00]).
Garrett Langley [03:00]:
"Why not create a Teach for America for law enforcement where you say, look, if you’ve got student debt and you go serve in your community for two years, four years... we’ll retire student debt."
- Culture vs. Numbers: Recruitment and retention woes stem more from cultural stigma and the vilification of policing (“defund/abolish the police”) than from raw lack of manpower. Lowered standards as stopgaps have dangerous consequences ([04:11]–[06:47]).
Marc Andreessen [04:52]:
"Because of the shortage, many police departments have lowered their standards...to the point in Memphis where they started actually hiring criminals."
3. Technology as a Lever for Crime Reduction
- Products & Tech Stack: Cameras, license plate readers, gunshot detection, drones, and AI-driven real-time crime centers are critical for modern, accountable, and effective policing ([09:03]–[09:48]).
Garrett Langley [09:03]:
"You need drones, you need cameras...now this AI layer...to make sense of it...And third...accountability and transparency."
- Results in Las Vegas: Technology adoption linked to improved clearance rates and increased community trust, drop in police shootings, faster 911 response ([24:19]; [25:25]).
4. Community Response and Public Trust
- Public/Private Partnerships: Business-funded innovations (e.g., Vega’s adoption of tech funded by private enterprise) can dramatically improve safety more quickly than government alone ([27:15]–[30:03]).
- Perception Shifts: Rather than being viewed with suspicion, technology-led policing increases both officer effectiveness and public confidence when accountability is built in ([25:25]).
Marc Andreessen [25:25]:
“How much the actual community likes it...the community go, ‘Wow, I’m proud to be here. I feel safe. If a crime gets committed...you can’t get away with it.’”
5. Privacy, Surveillance, and Societal Criticisms
- Transparency as a Solution: Critiques aimed at privacy concerns are often proxies for institutional mistrust of police; Flock argues for transparency and public dashboards ([32:32]–[34:21]).
Garrett Langley [32:32]:
"It is a cultural shock...when you go from subjective based policing to objective...we get predominantly criticized for privacy, which I find falsely focused. I think Flock puts a spotlight on trust issues."
- Privatizing Safety: “Defund the police” leads to unintentional consequences—privatized security for the wealthy, reduced safety for the poor ([34:31]–[35:25]).
Marc Andreessen [34:31]:
“That’s the irony of defund the police. It’s defund the police for poor people, privatize the police for rich people.”
6. Criminal Justice Reform: Balancing Accountability and Rehabilitation
- Failings of Mass Incarceration: Blanket imprisonment creates repeat offenders; there’s a need for diversion, especially for nonviolent and young offenders ([41:00]–[42:51]).
Marc Andreessen [36:44]:
"We’ve gone completely away from rehabilitation...our recidivism rate is over 70%...But we still have to keep people safe...You punish the victims on behalf of the criminals otherwise."
- Tech for Judicial Speed: Delays in the justice system worsen criminality; technology can speed up proceedings and aid in rehabilitation ([41:00]–[42:51]).
7. Clearing Crimes and the Real Impact of Technology
- Clearance Rates: Vegas boasts the country’s highest murder clearance rate—over 90%—thanks to community and tech partnerships. National average is ~47%, meaning a 53% chance of getting away with murder ([20:21]; [22:41]).
Garrett Langley [23:00]:
"You have a coin flip for murder."
- Success Stories: Flock tech helped recover over 450 missing children in a year; advanced AI enables safer, more precise arrests even in high-risk scenarios ([57:27]–[58:14]).
Memorable Quotes & Anecdotes
-
On Deterrence:
Marc Andreessen [10:03]:
"Certain punishment means no punishment." -
On Root Causes:
Marc Andreessen [11:48]:
"Nobody pays more attention to how policing works than criminals." -
On Recruitment Innovation:
Garrett Langley [03:00]:
"Why not create a teach for America for law enforcement... We'll retire student debt." -
On Cultural Shifts:
Marc Andreessen [07:58]:
"The cybertrucks, they have been great for recruiting despite the criticism..." -
On Community Effects:
Marc Andreessen [25:25]:
“I didn’t think it would be that visible that fast.” -
On Social Experiments:
Ben Horowitz [19:49]:
“That’s called the Ferguson effect. Right? Crime actually went up.” -
On “Defund” Debates:
Marc Andreessen [34:31]:
“Defund the police for poor people, privatize the police for rich people.” -
On Reducing False Arrests:
Marc Andreessen [32:01]:
“The fact that they've arrested a million of the correct people with a perfect AI match is really, really significant.”
Notable Segments by Timestamp
- 00:00–01:21: Framing the crime crisis, high clearance rate failures, cultural incentives to crime
- 03:00–06:47: Teach for America idea for policing; impact of culture, recruitment
- 09:03–10:03: Building a technology stack for police; integrating AI
- 13:03–14:49: The societal costs of mass incarceration vs. deterrence
- 20:21–23:00: Why homicide clearance rates are collapsing nationally
- 24:19–25:25: Impact of AI on police and community safety in Vegas
- 32:32–34:21: Privacy criticisms vs. public trust issues
- 34:31–36:19: Dangers of privatized security and unequal justice
- 41:00–42:51: Alternatives to incarceration, tech solutions in the justice pipeline
- 57:27–58:14: Recovery of missing children via tech; real-world success stories
Tone & Style
The tone is candid, energetic, and occasionally irreverent, marked by insider anecdotes, humor, and streetwise cultural references. The hosts and guests freely critique failed policies and celebrate practical experimentation, placing a heavy emphasis on data, effectiveness, and community outcomes rather than ideological purity.
Conclusion
The discussion positions advanced technology—not punitive excess or laissez-faire neglect—as the path to safer, fairer, and more efficient public safety systems. True progress will require innovative recruitment, honest assessment of cultural stigmas, partnership between private and public sectors, attention to privacy and trust, and a willingness to implement community-responsive solutions.
Recommended for listeners interested in:
- Policing and public safety innovation
- Technology and AI in public policy
- Justice reform and urban policy
- Venture-driven civic experiments
- Candid policy talk with Silicon Valley flavor