Indiana officer arrested for unauthorized Flock license plate searches

Georgetown Police Officer Justin Craig was arrested Oct. 22 after investigators found he ran dozens of unauthorized license plate searches. He faces felony misconduct and fraud charges.

Georgetown officer charged after unauthorised surveillance database searches

A Georgetown, Indiana police officer was arrested on Thursday, October 22, 2026, following an Indiana State Police investigation into alleged misuse of an automated licence plate recognition system, madisoncourier.com reports.

Officer Justin Craig of the Georgetown Police Department faces one Level 6 felony count of official misconduct and two Class A misdemeanor counts of fraud. The charges stem from his use of the Flock Safety licence plate reader system, which law enforcement agencies use to track vehicles and support criminal investigations.

Investigation triggered by irregular activity

The probe began on September 2, when ISP Detective Clay Boley met with Georgetown's police chief after the chief was alerted to unusual search patterns involving the department's Flock account. An internal review found that Craig had conducted numerous searches throughout 2026 that did not appear to be connected to any legitimate law enforcement purpose.

Access logs showed Craig repeatedly queried the database while logging justifications such as traffic violations, drug offences, assaults and vehicle thefts. Investigators could not identify corresponding cases that would account for those searches. The activity appeared to occur consistently during Craig's scheduled duty hours.

After reviewing department records, work schedules and electronic access logs, Boley concluded that Craig had accessed Flock information in violation of departmental policy and without a lawful purpose. Boley then obtained an arrest warrant through the Floyd County courts.

On Thursday, Indiana State Police SWAT officers served the warrant at Craig's residence in Greenville. He was taken into custody without incident.

State police did not disclose whose vehicles or licence plates Craig allegedly searched, whether those searches involved people he knew personally, or what he intended to do with the information. The investigation remains active, and ISP said no further details would be released at this time.

What Flock Safety systems do — and why they raise concerns

Flock Safety cameras photograph passing vehicles and record identifying information, including licence plate numbers, vehicle characteristics, and the time and location of each detection. Authorised officers can query the resulting database to assist in locating vehicles or investigating crimes.

The technology has drawn privacy and accountability concerns because it enables officers to reconstruct portions of a vehicle's travel history — including movements of people who are not suspected of any crime. The Georgetown case adds a separate dimension to those concerns: whether officers with legitimate system access can query it for purposes unrelated to their official duties.

Craig is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

At least eight Indiana officers publicly identified in 2026

Craig's arrest brings to at least eight the number of Indiana law enforcement officers publicly identified as arrested or criminally charged in connection with alleged misuse of automated licence plate reader systems in 2026, according to previously published reports and law enforcement announcements.

The cases span departments in Indianapolis, Jackson County, Hancock County and Georgetown.

On September 23, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced charges against five Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers following investigations that uncovered thousands of allegedly unauthorised Flock searches. Mears said the searches involved former romantic partners, acquaintances and other individuals without legitimate law enforcement justification.

The eight publicly identified officers are:

1. Justin Craig, Georgetown Police Department — arrested October 22 on one Level 6 felony count of official misconduct and two Class A misdemeanor counts of fraud. Investigators allege he ran numerous searches using law enforcement justifications unsupported by actual cases.

2. Skylar N. Thompson, former Jackson County sheriff's deputy — arrested August 31 after investigators found he allegedly searched the same licence plate 2,055 times between December 31, 2025, and August 2, 2026, logging "City Planning/Traffic Analysis" as the reason despite having no such assignment. He was charged with official misconduct and fraud.

3. James Heneghan, Hancock County sheriff's deputy — arrested September 24 following an ISP investigation that began with allegations of threatening text messages. Investigators subsequently found unauthorised licence plate searches involving people Heneghan knew. He faces charges of intimidation, official misconduct and fraud.

4. Matthew Dane Binford, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department — charged September 23 with official misconduct and fraud. Investigators allege he searched a plate associated with his former wife more than 1,000 times and also repeatedly searched his own licence plate.

5. Abigail Cramer, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department — among the five charged September 23 with alleged unauthorised Flock searches. Cramer subsequently resigned from the department.

6. Cassandra Crawley, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department — charged September 23 in the Indianapolis investigation involving searches allegedly conducted without legitimate law enforcement purposes.

7. Michael Rogers, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department — charged September 23 following reporting by The Washington Post, which identified approximately 3,759 searches over ten months involving vehicles associated with his wife and two acquaintances.

8. Jonathan Schultz, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department — charged September 23 on 26 counts including fraud and stalking. Investigators allege he used the system to search for women he knew or was seeking to meet, including a woman linked to a gym.

The Indianapolis investigation remains one of the largest clusters of licence plate reader misuse cases to emerge publicly in the United States in 2026.

Source: Google News GY — Georgetown