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License-plate readers · Vanderburgh County

Vanderburgh County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
48
Flock cameras across the county as of Dec. 2024, per WFIE; the same report counted 50 within Evansville city limits. In Jan. 2024 the office said it planned to reach 45 cameras countywide, including three at the University of Southern Indiana campus entrances.
  1. Nov. 2023 The sheriff's office announced it was bringing Flock's plate-reader system to the county, so that areas outside Evansville city limits would be covered as well as the city, where police already used it. WNIN reported the sheriff said the county commissioners and county council had approved the system (approval dates not given). (WFIE 14 News, Nov. 16, 2023; WNIN, Nov. 17, 2023)
  2. Jan. 12, 2024 The University of Southern Indiana announced the sheriff's office would put three Flock cameras at its campus entrances in spring 2024. (University of Southern Indiana, Jan. 12, 2024)
  3. Dec. 2024 Heritage Federal Credit Union gave $3,000 toward the county's Flock camera network. (WFIE 14 News, Dec. 10, 2024)
  4. May 24, 2026 The sheriff's office publicly described using Flock real-time alerts to track a vehicle across several states during an investigation. (Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office, May 24, 2026; WFIE 14 News, May 24, 2026)
  5. Oct. 2026 Sheriff Noah Robinson took part in a WNIN "Regional Voices" program on Flock cameras in Vanderburgh County with Evansville's police chief and the county prosecutor. (WNIN PBS, Oct. 14, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • USI's Jan. 2024 release says data from the cameras is deleted after 30 days and is available in real time to local, state and federal law enforcement; this is the university's description, not a sheriff's policy document.
  • Donation event dated by month: WFIE's Dec. 10, 2024 story does not give the date of the gift.
  • Oct. 2026 event dated by month from the PBS page date (10/14/2026); the page does not say whether that is the air date.
  • No contract amount or term found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Evansville Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
55
55 stationary Flock plate readers as of July 2022, cited again in March 2023 (plus mobile units); no later count from the department found.
Contract
Flock Safety: $125,000 term · approved by City of Evansville (body and date not stated) · City money granted to EPD for the cameras in Feb. 2022; WNIN later said donations and grants paid for them. (WFIE 14 News, Feb. 21, 2022; WNIN, July 11, 2022)
  1. Feb. 2022 The city provided EPD $125,000 for Flock plate-reading cameras. (WFIE 14 News, Feb. 21, 2022)
  2. July 2022 EPD said 55 Flock plate readers had been installed around the city; it did not disclose locations. (WNIN, July 11, 2022)
  3. March 2023 EPD said it planned to add more Flock cameras in the next year or two. (WFIE 14 News, March 23, 2023)
  4. Oct. 2026 Police Chief Phil Smith discussed the county's Flock cameras on WNIN's "Regional Voices" program. (WNIN PBS, Oct. 14, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Feb. 2022 and July 2022 events dated by month: the articles do not give the date of the funding decision or installation.
  • Most recent camera count from the agency itself is from 2023; current count not found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2015 Then-Sen. Jim Smith (R-Clarksville) filed a bill to set statewide plate-reader rules, including purging data after 30 days absent a warrant or ongoing investigation. Prosecutors and the state police chiefs' association opposed it, and it died in committee without a vote. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Jan. 2023)
  2. Feb. 2026 Gov. Mike Braun signed House Enrolled Act 1150 in February 2026. Section 3 of the act creates IC 32-25.5-3.8, effective July 1, 2026. Under it, a homeowners association may not install, maintain or operate an automated license plate reader. It may allow one on its property only if a law enforcement agency installs it or has it installed, only law enforcement can reach the images and data, and the association cannot see them. The law does not regulate how police use the readers. (Indiana General Assembly (mirrored by billtexts), 2026; The Indiana Citizen, Aug. 13, 2026; Indiana Capital Chronicle, Aug. 24, 2026)
  3. Aug. 2026 The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that the HOA law is the state's only plate-reader restriction. Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) said he was drafting a bill for the session that convenes in January setting minimum standards for police use, likely including agency audits of searches, yearly Indiana State Police audits, retention limits and rules on sharing with outside agencies. Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis) said he wants a broad review of plate-reader use. Gov. Braun's press secretary said "Guardrails are important and should be considered anytime personal information is involved." (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Aug. 24, 2026; Mirror Indy, Aug. 26, 2026)
  4. Aug. 2026 Indiana State Police applied for a U.S. Justice Department grant (FY2026 program for agencies in ICE's 287(g) program) listing $29,069,985 in its report to the State Budget Committee ($30,269,985 in a revised budget). The planned purchases include 20 license-plate reader camera systems for $300,000. The committee did not review the request in advance; at an August meeting Rep. Ed DeLaney's motion to put it on the review agenda failed along party lines. The application was pending as of Sept. 8, 2026. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Sept. 9, 2026; Mirror Indy, Sept. 9, 2026)
  5. Aug. 10, 2026 Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said in his online video series that he does not want government in "the business of mass surveillance" and has been talking with lawmakers about limits on police use of plate-reader tools; he did not back specific proposals or call for ending the technology. (The Indiana Citizen, Aug. 13, 2026)

State agencies

Indiana State Police

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Motorola Solutions
Cameras
Count not documented
In early 2023 ISP had 47 fixed cameras, mostly in or near Indianapolis, and had stopped using vehicle-mounted cameras. No current count found.
Contract
Motorola Solutions: term · In early 2023 the Indiana Department of Administration said the Vigilant Solutions (Motorola Solutions) system had cost more than $250,000 since the prior August. No contract document found. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Jan. 2023)
  1. Jan. 2023 ISP said it had used plate readers for more than a decade, scanning about one million plates a month; its 2015 operating procedure keeps image data 30 days, requires reasonable suspicion for a query, and allows sharing with agencies that also show reasonable suspicion. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Jan. 2023)
  2. Aug. 2026 ISP said troopers must enter a dispatch or case number for every search and that district investigative commanders audit records at their discretion. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Aug. 24, 2026)
  3. Sept. 2026 ISP's federal grant application said plate-reader data is generally purged after 30 days unless kept in an investigative file, and that the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center may share information with authorized personnel and must keep an audit trail. The application seeks 20 more plate-reader systems ($300,000); it was pending as of Sept. 8, 2026. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Sept. 9, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor is from 2023 reporting; no newer vendor or contract record found. Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center (run by ISP) is covered here rather than as a separate agency.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Indiana Department of Correction

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count. Reported as using plate-reader data; not known whether it owns cameras.
  1. Aug. 2026 IDOC uses plate-reader data to find escapees and parolees who violate supervision terms, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Aug. 24, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No contract or vendor found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Indiana Department of Transportation

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count. Reported as accessing plate data; not known whether it owns cameras.
  1. Aug. 2026 According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, INDOT uses plate-reader data to keep watch on toll operations, work zones and safety zones. (Indiana Capital Chronicle, Aug. 24, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No INDOT right-of-way permit policy for plate-reader cameras was found. An undated Greenfield Daily Reporter story on McCordsville said Flock handles permitting with INDOT for cameras it installs (in261029-a-dailyreporter-mccordsville).

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.