IMPD says stronger protections in place for flock cameras INDIANAPOLIS —The Indianapolis police chief on Thursday defended the department’s use of the Flock Safety camera system, even as five officers face charges for allegedly abusing the technology. “Whether it’s this community, or c ommunities across the country, this technology has been used to save lives,” Chief Tanya Terry of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said. An audit showed five officers used automated license plate readers to conduct thousands of unauthorized searches without a work-related reason. “Admittedly our audit and oversight policy should have been stronger,” Terry said. “And we’ve taken steps to fix that and correct that.” IMPD recently updated its policies to limit access to Flock data. Officers must now link every search to a specific case number. Court records detail the following allegations. Officer Matthew Binford used the Flock system to search for his ex-wife’s vehicle. Officer Abigail Cramer searched for relatives of her spouse’s ex-wife. Officer Cassandra Crawley tracked vehicles belonging to an IMPD lieutenant she once dated. Officer Michael Rogers tracked his wife and a man he suspected was having an affair with her. Officer Jonathan Schultz tracked the locations of nearly a dozen people, including women he did not know, so he could ask them for dates. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears on Wednesday described the charges as “just the beginning,” suggesting more misconduct could have happened that has not yet come to light. “I’m not sure what prosecutor Mears was thinking when he said that,” Terry said. “I don’t know what was on his mind.” Terry said the department is continuing internal audits of Flock searches. She noted it is too soon to tell if other officers abused their access. “IMPD remains committed to accountability and justice for these victims. And we’ll continue to walk alongside them and support them any way that we can throughout this process,” Terry said. Terry did not provide specifics on new measures to protect the survivors in these cases but said they would receive support from investigators and IMPD’s support services. The ACLU of Indiana, which has called for communities to end contracts for automated license plate reading technology, views the situation as a growing trend. “It’s clear this technology is ripe for abuse, and this type of abuse is clearly becoming a pattern,” a spokesperson said in a statement. The Democratic prosecutor argued that proposed guardrails would not have stopped these instances and suggested the need for “independent oversight.” Terry, however, pushed back against requiring a search warrant for Flock data. “Sometimes seconds matter,” Terry said. “And warrants take time to obtain and go through judicial review. And that may have a negative impact on a case.” Terry described the five cases as “disheartening” and “disappointing” but said she does not believe they indicate a systemic issue. “These few officers and their poor decisions, their poor decisions, their criminal conduct, are not reflective of the majority of our officers on this agency that continue to serve with pride and integrity,” she said. Statement from Flock Safety “Misuse of any law enforcement tool is unacceptable, and we will continue investing in safeguards that help agencies detect misuse and hold users accountable. “From Day 1, Flock has had detailed audit logs that give agencies visibility into how the system is being used, including every search, who conducted it, and what was searched. In April, we went further by launching Audit Assistance to proactively help agencies identify potential misuse. “In August, Flock announced it will make Audit Assistance mandatory for every customer.” ...read more read less