IMPD tightens ALPR policy after officer misuse, requiring case number for every Flock search

First reported: September 10, 2026 · 1 source

At a Nov. 2026 Indianapolis City-County Council Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee meeting, IMPD Chief Tanya Terry said the department has issued a new policy requiring every automated license plate reader search to be tied to a case or CAD number, a step that was previously optional. Officers had to sign the policy to retain access, and those who did not had access revoked. The change followed the discovery that an officer used the Flock system for personal reasons; Terry said she suspended him without pay and recommended termination. The rule currently exists as an internal standard operating procedure not generally released to the public, and IMPD said it is working to convert it into a general order voted on by a board that includes community members.

Why this matters

The episode illustrates how ALPR access controls and audit trails often tighten only after a documented misuse case, and raises the question of whether surveillance rules should be internal procedure or publicly reviewable policy.

Key facts

Every IMPD ALPR search must now be linked to a case or CAD number; ALPR users had to sign the policy or lose access.
Policy change followed an officer's alleged personal use of Flock; the chief suspended him without pay and recommended firing. Outcome of that process was not reported.
Terry said daily audits occur, use Flock AI tools, and that search histories persist even though images are deleted after 30 days.
A Flock spokesperson said Audit Assistance will be required for all law enforcement customers by the end of this year.
Flock-provided Indiana figures for 2026 cited by the company: 2,000+ plates tied to warrants, nearly 200 tied to missing persons, 3,500+ tied to stolen vehicles.
The policy is currently an internal standard operating procedure not generally available to the public; IMPD said it intends to make it a general order.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

IMPD says officers can now only use Flock camera system for specific cases (Fox 59, September 10, 2026)

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About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated September 12, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.