FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Indianapolis, IN — October 23, 2026 — Indiana State Police on Thursday arrested Georgetown Police Department officer Justin Craig on one Level 6 felony count of official misconduct and two Class A misdemeanor counts of fraud for alleged misuse of the department's Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) system. According to court documents described in local reporting, Craig searched a plate tied to a vehicle his wife drove more than 80 times, and plates belonging to a Tennessee man who was a past acquaintance of hers nearly 250 times, between January and July of this year. He logged reasons such as traffic infractions, narcotics, assault and stolen vehicles. Investigators found no cases behind any of them. The charges are allegations, and Craig is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Georgetown is the 11th documented case of ALPR misuse in Indiana to come to light since August, and Craig is the eighth Indiana officer criminally charged in 2026. Across those 11 cases, officers at eight agencies ran roughly 17,800 searches of people who were not under investigation: spouses, ex-partners, a girlfriend, women an officer met at the gym, and a man whose only offense was criticizing his town council.

"When we started Eyes Off Indiana, the pushback we heard was that misuse was hypothetical," said Walker Lasbury, Founder and President of Eyes Off Indiana. "In about ten weeks, Hoosiers have learned of eleven cases. That is roughly one a week, in departments large and small, from Indianapolis to a town of a few thousand people in Floyd County. The question is no longer whether this technology will be misused. It is whether the legislature will act before the next case."

Georgetown Police Chief Travis Speece deserves credit. He spotted irregular search activity, ordered an internal review, and brought in the Indiana State Police. But nothing in Indiana law required him to do any of it. Of the 11 Indiana cases, only about half were caught by the department itself. The rest surfaced because of newspaper reporters, a relative who reported threatening texts, or the people being tracked noticing and complaining. Every consequence so far, from felony charges to quiet resignations to no discipline at all, has been a local judgment call made without any state standard.

Even Craig's defense points to the gap. In a statement, his attorney said Craig will move to dismiss the charges and argued that if the public or police believe this conduct should be prohibited, "the answer is to write that law or policy."

"On that point, we agree," Lasbury said. "Whether tracking your spouse's car with a police camera network is a crime should not depend on which county you live in or which prosecutor reviews it. Indiana needs one clear standard, and only the General Assembly can write it."

Indiana still has no law on any of this

As of today, no Indiana statute:

  • limits how long Hoosiers' location data from these cameras may be kept
  • restricts what police may search that data for
  • requires anyone to review search logs for misuse
  • creates a specific penalty for misusing the system
  • lets Hoosiers find out whether their own plate was searched
  • requires a department to tell the public when it finds misuse

What we're asking the General Assembly to pass in 2027

Whether these cameras go up at all is a decision that belongs to each Indiana community, including the choice to reject them entirely. But wherever they operate, Hoosiers deserve the same minimum protections. Eyes Off Indiana calls on lawmakers to set a statewide floor that includes:

  • A 7-day retention limit: Routine scans that don't match a law enforcement alert are deleted within 7 days, with longer retention only for warrants and active investigations.
  • A ban on selling the data: Hoosiers' plate data may not be sold, licensed, traded or transferred to data brokers or any other private third party.
  • Logging and audits: Every search logged with who ran it, when and why, tied to a real case number; regular audits of system use; and a public transparency portal for each agency.
  • Penalties for misuse: Personal use of ALPR data made a violation of state law, not just department policy, with criminal liability for knowing violations and a right for victims to sue.

"Two months ago, we said it was only a matter of time before misuse reached Indiana," Lasbury said. "It has now reached eight agencies. Hoosiers should not have to wait for a twelfth case, or a twentieth, before their legislature sets the rules."

Hoosiers who want statewide ALPR safeguards can sign the petition at eyesoffindiana.org/petition. Every documented Indiana case, with sources, is available at eyesoffindiana.org/alpr-misuse.

About Eyes Off Indiana

Eyes Off Indiana, Inc. is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to protecting privacy and advancing strict limits on government surveillance technology. The organization advocates for clear, enforceable policies governing the collection, retention, and sharing of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) data across Indiana.

Media Contact

Walker Lasbury, Founder and President
walker@eyesoffindiana.org
(317) 483-1932