HENDERSON, KY — Henderson police are making the case that their Flock license plate cameras are a valuable investigative tool after one alert helped officers find an elderly Indiana man who had become disoriented while driving near the city last month.
The recovery has become a focal point in a broader debate over whether Henderson should continue using the system. Police say the cameras have helped them solve serious cases and locate vulnerable people, while some residents worry about privacy and how the technology is used.
The issue is set to come before the public again at a city meeting next week, where officials will hear from residents on both sides of the question.
How officers tracked the missing driver across Henderson
Patrolman Austin Miller said he and a rookie officer were on routine patrol when the man’s plate first triggered a camera on Zion Road and then hit again in the east end. The repeated alerts narrowed the search area, even though officers did not immediately find the vehicle.
Officers checked a similar car and ruled it out after comparing a still image from the camera. Later, Sgt. Gibson received another alert and found the driver sitting in the vehicle.
Miller said the man had medical problems and did not know where he was. Officers got him medical attention and took him to a hospital.
The family had reported him missing in Indiana, and Henderson police said the alert came through the National Crime Information Center because the man had been entered into the database as a missing person. His family later drove to Henderson to pick him up.
Police say the cameras helped solve shootings, thefts and other cases
Detective Jake Isonhood called the system one of the strongest investigative tools the department has ever had. He said his experience with Flock dates to 2022 and includes several major cases that began with vehicle information.
Among them was a shooting at Woodland Apartments, where about six rounds went through one apartment and into another unit where children were present. Isonhood said a vehicle description led officers to the driver, who identified the shooter. Police say the shooter is now in prison.
Isonhood also pointed to a case involving an Atlanta group accused of picking up homeless people in Evansville and having them cash bad checks, as well as a silver theft this year. In that theft, he said, the investigation tied a rented vehicle from Nashville and a suspect from Canada to the case.
He said the department has also used Flock in shootings, a body dump case and other investigations that crossed city lines.
What a Flock alert shows officers and what it does not
Police said a Flock hit is sent as a text message or email to officers across the department. The alert includes the license plate, the camera location and the reason the vehicle was entered into the system, such as a stolen plate, wanted person or missing person.
Officers do not receive a live location or a running track of where the car is headed. Miller and Isonhood said the cameras are fixed in place and capture still images, not video.
The department says the cameras do not record sound or speed, do not use facial recognition and do not provide the driver’s or owner’s name. Images are stored for 30 days, while search records are kept longer. Officers can search the system only after entering an offense, a case number and a reason for the lookup.
According to the department, repeated searches of the same plate over multiple months trigger an alert and monthly audits follow.
Audit safeguards and examples of searches in active investigations
Henderson police say the system is monitored carefully and that the department has not seen misuse locally. Isonhood said officers in larger cities have gotten into trouble, but he has not seen that happen in Henderson.
The department’s presentation says access is limited to officers, investigative personnel, dispatch and partner agencies. Henderson says its network is shared with 3,567 law enforcement agencies, including 1,304 in Kentucky, but not with federal agencies.
Chief Billy Bolin gave that same explanation to the Henderson City Commission on Aug. 25. The department also offered a local audit example involving two brothers who were using their mother’s car. In one case, officers were looking for a wanted sex offender later arrested in Indianapolis. In another, they were searching for the second brother after he failed to return to the Vanderburgh County Jail from a furlough for his mother’s funeral.
Police said both searches were tied to real cases, and the repeated plate activity was flagged because it had been searched within the previous 30 days.
City hearing will give supporters and critics three minutes each
Henderson police say they used Flock 806 times in the 30 days before the Aug. 25 city meeting, a figure that covered cases involving stolen vehicles, missing people, drugs, burglary and welfare checks. The department says that number reflects uses of the system, not arrests.
Isonhood said he may search the cameras once or twice a week, or go a month without using them. He and Miller said public interest in adding more cameras has cooled because of privacy concerns, and the cameras are not installed at every intersection.
Residents who spoke with Spectrum News were divided. Donald Skaggs said he strongly supports the cameras if they help police. Joseph Craig said he understands both sides and sees the issue as a balance between safety and privacy.
The city will take public comments at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Municipal Services Center, 1449 Corporate Court. The first 20 speakers in favor of Flock and the first 20 opposed will each get three minutes.