Bloomington Police have begun using artificial intelligence [AI] as an investigation tool. The department recently combined AI and automatic license plate reader [ALPR] technology to recover a stolen rental truck with a snow-covered license plate.
Lt. Jim Clesson said the case is a good example of using AI to expound on ALPR images in identifying vehicles involved in crimes. The Bloomington Police Department provides a monthly report of ALPR use to the city’s Public Safety and Community Relations Board [PSCRB] along with statistics on use of force, department staffing and complaints filed.
The technology is an enhancement implemented by Flock Safety, the camera company used by Bloomington, Normal and McLean County law enforcement.
A department spokesperson said officers verify AI findings by observing distinguishing features on a vehicle. It’s unclear if BPD can voluntarily opt out of the AI feature. The officer with Flock camera expertise was not immediately available.
Last fall, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Flock Safety shared data with federal agencies as part of the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement operation.
Bloomington and Normal Police have previously said both agencies regularly audit officers’ use of ALPR data.
“BPD is still not sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies or any federal agency, both by policy and hardware settings in our systems,” Clesson said at Wednesday's PSCRB meeting.
In September, McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane said his department inadvertently shared data to federal authorities between April and August 2025, and has since tightened access.
