Why Check for ALPRs in Your City

Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) quietly log when and where vehicles pass a given point. When the data is stored for long periods or widely shared, it can reveal sensitive details about daily life: home, work, places of worship, medical visits, and political or social meetings.

In Indiana there is no statewide law that requires agencies to disclose where ALPRs are deployed, how long data is stored, or who can access it. That means the first step toward accountability is simple: finding out whether your community uses these cameras at all.

This guide walks Indiana residents through practical ways to investigate ALPR use in their own cities and counties.

Step 1: Learn What ALPR Cameras Look Like

You can often start with your own eyes. ALPRs are usually small cameras positioned to capture license plates on moving vehicles. They typically appear:

  • On roadside poles near city limits or major intersections,
  • On traffic light arms facing lanes of travel,
  • On overpasses or sign structures above highways,
  • On police vehicles, mounted on trunks, bumpers, or light bars.

Flock Safety cameras, which are used widely, have some common features:

  • A small rectangular camera head facing the roadway,
  • A solar panel above or next to the camera,
  • A slim metal pole with no obvious attached light fixture or street sign,
  • Often placed at neighborhood or subdivision entrances and exits.

If you notice a simple pole with a solar panel and a compact box pointed at the roadway, especially at entry or exit points, you may be looking at an ALPR. On police cars, look for paired camera units mounted at angles to cover multiple lanes, distinct from standard light bars.

Physical spotting will not give you policy details or retention rules, but it can confirm that ALPR hardware is present in your community.

Step 2: Search Online for Public Paper Trails

Even when agencies are quiet about ALPR deployments, they often leave a record in public documents such as meeting minutes, contracts, or news coverage. Targeted online searches can uncover these.

Try focused Google searches. Combine your city or county name with common ALPR terms:

  • "[City Name]" "license plate reader"
  • "[City Name]" "automatic license plate"
  • "[City Name]" "Flock Safety"
  • "[City Name] police" "ALPR"

You can also use more advanced search operators:

  • "[City Name]" "Flock Safety" filetype:pdf
  • "license plate readers" site:[your city government domain]
  • "license plate reader" "Indiana" "police department"

This can surface city council packets, grant applications, vendor contracts, or press releases that mention ALPRs or Flock Safety specifically.

Check city council and board documents. Many Indiana cities publish agendas and minutes for:

  • City council meetings,
  • Board of works meetings,
  • Public safety board or police commission meetings.

Look through recent agendas and minutes for references to "license plate readers", "ALPR", "Flock Safety", or "surveillance cameras". Procurement approvals and technology updates are often discussed or voted on in these forums.

Review police department communications. Visit your local police or sheriff’s office website and social media pages. Use any search bar on the site and try terms like:

  • "license plate reader"
  • "Flock"
  • "camera system"

Some agencies announce new technology deployments in news releases or community outreach posts, even when they do not publish full policies.

Step 3: Use Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA)

If online searches do not answer your question, or if you want more detail, you can file a public records request under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA), Indiana Code 5-14-3.

You do not need a lawyer, and there is no special form. A clear email is enough.

Who to contact. For ALPR information, common targets are:

  • The city or town clerk,
  • The police department or sheriff’s office records division,
  • The city legal department, if they handle APRA requests.

What to say. A straightforward APRA request might read:

Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (Ind. Code 5-14-3), I am requesting copies of any records related to the acquisition or use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) by [Agency Name].

This request includes, but is not limited to: - Contracts, invoices, or purchase orders with ALPR vendors such as Flock Safety, Vigilant Solutions, Rekor, Motorola, or similar providers; - Policies, procedures, training documents, or memoranda governing ALPR use, data retention, data sharing, or user access; - Any reports or summaries that state how many ALPR cameras the agency operates and where they are deployed in general terms (for example, by neighborhood or corridor).

Please provide these records in electronic form if possible. If there are copying fees that exceed [your dollar amount], please inform me before processing the request.

You can adjust this language to your needs. The key is to describe the records with enough detail that the agency can locate them, and to explicitly reference the statute so that they treat the request as an APRA request.

Deadlines and responses. For written requests (such as email), the agency must respond within seven calendar days, either by providing records, acknowledging the request, or issuing a denial. If they do not respond at all within that time, it is treated as a denial under APRA.

Step 4: Understanding Common Indiana Denials

Agencies sometimes deny ALPR-related requests, in whole or in part, by citing exemptions in Indiana Code 5-14-3-4(b). A denial letter may refer to sections such as:

  • IC 5-14-3-4(b)(1) – investigatory records of law enforcement agencies,
  • IC 5-14-3-4(b)(10) – administrative or technical information that would jeopardize a record-keeping or security system,
  • IC 5-14-3-4(b)(11) – computer programs, codes, or other software owned by the agency.

These provisions allow, but do not require, an agency to withhold certain records.

Agencies may properly use these exemptions to withhold, for example, active case files, detailed ALPR hit reports, or specific technical configurations. However, broad use of these sections to block access to basic information such as contracts, policies, or high-level camera counts can be questioned.

If your request is denied with language like "Your request is denied pursuant to Indiana Code § 5-14-3-4(b)(1), (10) and/or (11)", you still have options:

  • Clarify or narrow the request. You can respond that you are not seeking active investigatory files or raw ALPR data, only administrative records such as policies, contracts, and aggregate counts. That reduces any claim that disclosure would harm investigations or security.
  • Ask for segregable portions. Even if some parts of a record are exempt, non-exempt portions should be released. You can request that the agency redact sensitive portions and provide the rest.
  • Request an opinion from the Public Access Counselor. Indiana’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) can issue an advisory opinion on whether the denial complies with APRA. You generally must seek a PAC opinion before going to court if you want to preserve the ability to recover attorney’s fees later.

Keeping your communication polite and focused on the law often makes it more likely that an agency will work with you, especially when you are asking for policies and contracts rather than case files.

Step 5: Use External Maps and Watchdog Tools

You do not need to start from scratch. Several public projects and open-source tools track ALPR deployments or help residents investigate surveillance technology:

  • DeFlock (open-source ALPR mapping project) – A community-maintained platform that visualizes possible ALPR locations across the United States based on public records, crowd-sourced submissions, and known deployments. It is not an official government source, but it is currently one of the most useful starting points for locating or verifying suspected camera placements.
  • Atlas of Surveillance – An interactive map documenting where various surveillance technologies are reported to be in use. You can search by city or county and often find linked sources, including news stories and public records.
  • Public record repositories – Platforms such as MuckRock or DocumentCloud sometimes host uploaded ALPR policies, contracts, or grant applications from Indiana agencies. These can help you understand what to request from your own city.

None of these tools are comprehensive, and absence from a map does not prove that a city has no ALPRs. However, they can significantly shorten the research process and help verify results from other steps.

For additional investigative tools curated by Eyes Off Indiana, visit: https://eyesoffindiana.org/tools

Step 6: Document and Share What You Learn

Once you confirm whether your city uses ALPRs, and under what policies, it can be helpful to organize your findings in a simple format:

  • City or town:
  • Agency operating cameras:
  • Vendor (for example, Flock Safety):
  • Number and general locations of cameras, if known:
  • Data retention policy:
  • Data sharing practices (which networks or outside agencies can access records):
  • Policy or contract links:

Having this information in one place makes it easier for neighbors, local journalists, and elected officials to understand what is happening and where the gaps are. It also highlights when an agency has acquired powerful surveillance tools without clear public rules.

What Comes Next

Finding out whether your city uses ALPRs is only the first step. If you confirm that ALPR systems are in place, you can:

  • Ask your city council to publish the ALPR policy and annual usage statistics,
  • Advocate for short retention limits, warrant requirements, and bans on commercial data sharing,
  • Encourage your community to participate in public meetings where technology and privacy are discussed.

Eyes Off Indiana supports clear, statewide rules that protect both public safety and constitutional rights. Until those statewide safeguards exist, local residents remain a critical line of oversight.

Want to help bring transparency and limits to ALPR use in Indiana? Sign our petition and share what you learn with your neighbors.