Lawmakers push for new police database that would help officers determine if person is allowed to have a gun

INDIANAPOLIS — Lawmakers are hoping to give police officers a tool to better protect them and you as well.

A bill at the statehouse would give officers quicker access to more information that can help them determine if a person is allowed to have a gun or not.

"The most recent legislation that went through last year enabling permit less carry was one that came with the caveat that prohibited possessors still couldn't have firearms,” Chief Kyle Prewitt with the Plainfield Police Department said. “But there was no database for us to be able to research to figure out who those people were."

That's where Senate Bill 136 comes in. It would create a statewide database for officers to access information about a person’s background quickly and efficiently.

The current process is time consuming. It will allow officers to access information from other counties. To do that now, officers must do multiple searches in multiple databases.

"By having this particular application, which will sweep and collect the data, it will allow law enforcement to know if somebody is a prohibited person,” Jack Sandlin, State Senator and the author of the bill and Republican representing District 36, said. “It will actually reduce the time that an officer has to engage with some to make that determination.”

For law enforcement officers time is of the essence.

"The longer you are sitting on the side of the road with lights on, the more of a danger you are experiencing, not just as the officer but to the public,” Prewitt said. “For drivers, if there's something on the side of the road, hopefully, they are paying attention and don't strike it. Unfortunately, that happens a lot of times too."

Law enforcement believes this data base could help keep illegal guns off the street.

"If there are indicators saying there is printing of clothing that look like a firearm is present or other things, that gives the officer the ability in that moment to freeze the situation get help and conduct an arrest if need be,” Prewitt said.

This bill was a response to permit less carry law. The legislation would require the system to be built by 2024. It passed out of the senate and a house it’s waiting for a full vote in the Senate.