Plano Business Aims To Streamline Police-For-Hire Industry, Looks Ahead to the 2026 World Cup

Big events, like the World Cup, need many police officers and security personnel. And local resources could be stretched thin when the demand that such a globally beloved event can bring with it hits town.

Illuno, a Plano-based tech company, has a goal of helping out when the need for this sort of staffing arises. Illuno connects businesses with local law enforcement through an online, customer-facing platform. The app's hope is to streamline the process by speeding up officer-for-hire job fillings and increasing job fill rates amid nationwide officer shortages.

Illuno co-founder Luke Guthrie was a firefighter for 20 years. During his service, he noticed many police officers moonlighted shifts after hours. But the systems in place were slow and inefficient. After retiring in 2018, Guthrie thought about how things could be done differently.

“Technology in public safety is about 20 years behind. So, we figured it's time for the law enforcement community to feel the technology of the future,” Guthrie said.

From a 16-year-old’s birthday party to an NFL game, there is a wide array of events that might hire officers, Guthrie says. “What we have is a community-focused, cloud-based platform that any small business or corporation can hire a police officer on an app with one or two minutes of use.”

After starting the company in Seattle in 2019 with his co-founder, Augustus Hellwich, Illuno moved to Plano in 2021. The two received backing from Mark Cuban Companies after reaching Cuban through a blind email.

"It just seemed obvious to me that there was a significant need [in] every major city and I wanted to learn more," Cuban told the Observer via email about that initial email pitch from Guthrie. The local billionaire also wrote that the people he asked about Illuno said it was "best-in-class" for what it offered.

Businesses create an event on Illuno, and off-duty police officers can sign up to work the event. According to Guthrie, Illuno has a fill rate of 99% and an average turnaround time of about 24 hours, compared to the status-quo model that typically takes 3 to 5 days and cannot fill every request. Illuno pulls officers not just from the department in the city where the event is taking place, but from surrounding departments with eligibility to work in that location.

The police officers hired through Illuno are real cops with the authority to make arrests if necessary, as opposed to security guards.

Many DFW cities, such as Keller, Carrollton and Prosper, use the company Off Duty Management to facilitate off-duty officer hiring. Companies like these act as call centers that take requests for jobs and then match those jobs with officers. “What's out there today is a staffing and scheduling model that takes a lot of people and time,” Guthrie said.

Illuno has expanded across the country, opening in New York and the Pacific Northwest. The company says it addresses a need amidst rampant officer staffing shortages. A 2023 survey from Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) found that officer resignations increased nearly 50% between 2019 and 2022. Between 2020 and 2023, the number of sworn police officers dropped 4.8%.

Respondents to a 2021 PERF survey cited decreased applications and increased resignations and retirements due to low morale, “pandemic fatigue” and increased accountability for police actions by the community.

The Austin Police Department made headlines in February when a portion of East Austin was left without a single patrolling officer for two hours. Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock estimated the department is about 500 officers short of where they need to be. Louisiana is currently in a state of emergency declaration due to a law enforcement shortage.

“We're seeing a nationwide shortage in police officers. We're seeing academies at an all-time low,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie is already thinking toward 2026, when Arlington will host nine World Cup matches, bringing 200,000 to 300,000 fans to the area, according to some estimates. The World Cup could bring over $400 million in economic impact and 3,000 temporary jobs to the area. That’s a lot of people, and a lot of crowd control. North Texas will get a test run of sorts when the Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place in Arlington in July.

What about the money? Officers are paid by the businesses or people who hire them. “No taxpayer is going to pay for extra police. It gives the business the option to pay for a police officer on their own. And that officer is working for that entity,” Guthrie said.

Illuno makes money through a fee, based on a percentage of the hours worked by officers. Officers receive their pay within three to four days, versus getting paid every month using the typical model.

Guthrie hopes Illuno will improve the moonlighting industry for officers looking for more work.

“I understand what happens out there,” he said. “Bad things do happen out there, and we do need this service. If I can streamline it and make it easier for the consumer or the mom-and-pop shop down the street, then I think I'm doing my job and my civic duty."