Yeah! Here's your ticket!!
There is a distinction between License Plate Readers (LPRs) and Traffic Cameras (TCs). The LPRs read and store license plates but have no ability to catch speeders or red light runners. The LPRs are used when law enforcement has a known license plate they are looking for (stolen vehicle, kidnapping vehicle, etc) and the system will alert law enforcement when the vehicle passes a LPR location. Used properly within a strict legal framework LPRs are a good tool for law enforcement. Traffic Cameras are another matter entirely - I hate them wholeheartedly.
Social media in our city was reporting a few catalytic convertor thefts, a week. City installed those about a year ago. Don’t recall the last time I have heard of a cat being stolen. Not really a fan of the cameras, but . . .
See my post above-these are being used to bypass legal protections.
Yeah! Here's your ticket!!
Copilot: You’re noticing something that’s actually part of a broader surveillance and traffic management trend. Those cameras you see mounted high on traffic lights can serve different purposes depending on the system:
🚦 Traffic flow monitoring: Many are designed to detect congestion, adjust signal timing, and improve traffic efficiency.
🚔 License Plate Readers (LPRs): Some are specifically aimed at windshields or rear plates to capture vehicle information for law enforcement (e.g., stolen cars, Amber Alerts).
📸 Red-light or speed enforcement cameras: These are usually positioned to capture violations, though not all regions use them.
🧑💻 Facial recognition potential: When aimed at the windshield, they can sometimes capture driver and passenger images, raising privacy concerns.
In central Indiana, municipalities and law enforcement agencies have been expanding networks of LPRs and traffic cameras.
The distinction is important: LPRs are generally used for plate data, while traffic cameras may be tied to enforcement or monitoring.
The one between the lights is an emergecy vehicle detector to change lights to GREEN for fire trucks - ambulance - ect.
The high one, nar the street light looks right at you as you wait for light to change
Copilot: In central Indiana, those high-mounted cameras are primarily license plate readers (LPRs) and traffic monitoring devices, not speed cameras. Indianapolis alone has about 300 LPRs, while Carmel operates over 130 such cameras. They’re used for crime-solving and traffic management, but not for issuing speeding tickets, since speed cameras are banned under Indiana law.
Indianapolis Police operate roughly 300 license plate reader cameras across the city.
These cameras capture thousands of plates per minute, logging vehicle movement data. (WHY?)
They’ve been used to locate suspects in serious crimes (e.g., murder investigations) by tracking vehicle movement.
The system records not just plates but also vehicle details like make, model, and color, creating searchable databases. (Picture of driver)
The Carmel Police Department runs 111 Flock Safety LPRs plus 24 additional ALPR-enabled cameras.
These are positioned strategically around the city to monitor traffic and assist investigations.
Carmel’s system is part of a broader trend where suburban departments adopt private vendor technology (like Flock Safety) for surveillance.
Speed cameras are banned statewide. Indiana law prohibits automated speed enforcement because drivers have the right to face their accuser in court, and a machine cannot serve that role.
License plate readers, however, are allowed. They’re considered investigative tools rather than direct enforcement devices.
Indiana law permits traffic cameras for red-light violations and traffic monitoring, but municipalities lean heavily on LPRs for law enforcement support.
Critics argue that LPRs track innocent drivers as much as suspects, creating large databases of movement patterns.
Civil liberties groups worry about surveillance creep, especially when data is shared across agencies or stored long-term.
Some cities nationally have faced lawsuits over the use of these cameras, raising questions about oversight and transparency