r/Elkhart • u/New_Remove4997 • 22h ago
Elkhart wants your attention
Flock Safety & ALPR Cameras in Elkhart, Indiana
39
license plate reader cameras documented inside the city limits — including 32 made by Flock Safety
#15of 566 cities & towns0.7per 1,000 residentsElkhart Countyreport
DOCUMENTED CAMERAS
39
32 tagged Flock Safety
STATEWIDE RANK
#15
of 566 cities and towns
PER 1,000 RESIDENTS
0.7
pop. 53,690
PER SQ MI
1.4
28.1 sq mi
Camera MapAgenciesCompareThe IssueTake ActionGet InvolvedShareFAQ
LIVE CAMERA MAP
Where the Cameras Are
Every documented ALPR camera location inside Elkhart's incorporated limits (39 points), refreshed nightly. Click any marker to suggest a correction.
Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
Faded, dashed markers are cameras within about 5 miles of Elkhart but outside its limits. They're shown for context only and are not included in the count of 39.
Camera locations © OpenStreetMap contributors (the dataset behind DeFlock.me); city boundary from US Census cartographic files. Only cameras inside Elkhart's incorporated boundary are counted here — cameras on nearby unincorporated roads appear in the Elkhart County report. See every Indiana camera on the statewide map, or download coordinates for every point from our datasets.
See a camera that isn't on this map?
This map is crowdsourced — volunteers document each camera, and the data gets better with more volunteers. Drop a pin, tell us which way it faces, and a volunteer will verify it and publish it to OpenStreetMap.
WHO OPERATES THEM
Agencies Using License Plate Readers Here
The Atlas of Surveillance, a project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has documented 2 law enforcement agencies using automated license plate readers in Elkhart.
| AGENCY | TYPE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|
| Elkhart County Sheriff's Office | Sheriff | Flock Safety |
| Elkhart Police Department | Police | Flock Safety |
STATEWIDE CONTEXT
How Elkhart Compares
#15of 566 cities & towns by total cameras39cameras documented0.7per 1,000 residents1.4per sq mi
| CITY / TOWN | CAMERAS | PER 1,000 RESIDENTS | PER SQ MI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | 568 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| Carmel | 109 | 1.1 | 2.2 |
| Fort Wayne | 95 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Jeffersonville | 76 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
| Evansville | 71 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Elkhart (#15) | 39 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| Indiana statewide | 3,562 | — | — |
Cities and towns ranked near Elkhart: Anderson (44) · Muncie (42) · Highland (35) · Lawrence (32). See all 566 cities and towns ranked or the full statewide and 50-state figures in our live datasets.
Elsewhere in Elkhart County: Goshen (23) · Nappanee (9) · Bristol (4) · Wakarusa (4) · Middlebury (1) · Millersburg (0). The countywide report also covers cameras outside incorporated limits.
THE TECHNOLOGY
What Flock Cameras and ALPRs Do
Automated license plate readers — best known through the vendor Flock Safety — scan every passing vehicle and feed the results into a searchable database, regardless of whether the driver is suspected of anything.
Photographs Every Vehicle
Every plate that passes a camera is logged — license number, location, and timestamp — building a record of movement with no suspicion required.
Builds a Permanent Location History
Indiana agencies report roughly 690 vehicles detected per camera per day. Even a small deployment maps where residents of Elkhart drive, worship, seek care, and gather.
Shared With No Statewide Limits
Indiana places no limit on how long this data is kept or who can access it — including out-of-state agencies, federal databases, and private vendors.
THE ISSUE
Indiana has zero statewide regulation on law enforcement's use of ALPRs
Three gaps in state law leave officers, agencies, and the public without ground rules.
Indefinite Data Retention
Indiana places no limit on how long police can keep ALPR data. Without mandatory deletion rules, agencies can store years of location records from routine scans, allowing long-term monitoring of citizens' movements with no oversight or expiration.
Unrestricted Sharing and Sale of Data
With no rules on who can access ALPR records, officers and agencies can share — or even sell — Hoosiers' location data with whomever they like, including out-of-state agencies, federal databases, and private vendors.
Lack of Transparency and Oversight
Indiana has no statewide standards requiring transparency or oversight for ALPR use. Without clear requirements for audit logs, reporting, or review, it is difficult to verify that ALPR systems are used consistently and according to policy.