Search in Axon Evidence

Axon Evidence lets authorized users analyze and correlate ALPR data in support of forensic investigations and proactive crime prevention to solve and prevent crimes. You can search for ALPR data, download ALPR records, and directly attach evidence to a case within Axon Evidence.

The Record Search feature lets you search by license plate number or by the name of the officer who collected the record, and you can limit your search by date or by the type of ALPR capture (hit, read, or all).

When you select ALPR in the menu, user permissions dictate what you'll see:

  • With ALPR search permissions, your view defaults to the ALPR Record Search screen defaulted to your agency address (set in Agency Profile):
    Shows the Axon Evidence A L P R Record Search screen.
  • With ALPR search permissions for users with the Vehicle Characteristic enrichment service enabled, you can also search using Plate State, Vehicle Body, Vehicle Make, Vehicle Color, and Plate Type.
    Shows the Axon Evidence A L P R Record Search screen with additional search fields for the Flock Safety Vehicle Characteristic enrichment service.
    Confidence sliders under some vehicle attribute search fields let you adjust the volume of search results based on your investigative needs. The default value is 75%.
    Shows the sliders under some vehicle attribute fields of the A L P R search window.
  • With hotlist management permissions, your view defaults to the ALPR Hotlist Records Management screen:
    Shows the Axon Evidence A L P R Hotlist Records Management screen.

Search ALPR records

  1. On the Axon Evidence menu bar, select ALPR, then Record Search.
    Shows the Axon Evidence A L P R Record Search screen.
  2. Enter information to search by, such as:
    • A full or partial plate number in the Plate Number field.
    • The name of the officer who captured the plate number in the Owner field.
    • The vehicle name in the Vehicle field.
    • To search for multiple items in one field, separate with a comma, such as "PLATE1, PLATE2, PLATE3".
  3. Use Date to specify the date and time the plate number was captured. The maximum range is one year.
  4. Use Hit/Read Category to filter by Read records, Hit records, or both.
  5. Enter the Search Reason for your plate number search. This is required for auditing purposes.
  6. Select Search Shows the previously described button. to perform your search.

When viewing search results on the map, Read records are gray and Hit records are blue.

Whenever viewing the map, search a street address, county, city, or ZIP code directly from the field at the top-left corner.
Shows the search field at the top left of the Axon Evidence A L P R map.

Switch between map and satellite view using the thumbnail at the bottom-left of the map:
Shows the map/satellite thumnbnail at the bottom left of the Axon Evidence A L P R map.

A Direction of travel selector at the top right of the map enables indicators between ALPR read records and GPS markers. If a search identifies (a) one or more plates with either multiple plate reads or (b) multiple GPS markers associated with a plate read, this selector is enabled automatically to show directional lines between read records or GPS Markers captured by one or more vehicles within a 60-minute window of each other.
Shows the direction of travel selector box at the top right of the Axon Evidence A L P R map, along with a sample path on the map.

Search fields

Plate number

By default, a plate number search will only find an exact match of the characters entered. For a partial plate search, replace a single unknown number with ? (such as HK7?43) or multiple unknown numbers with * (such as HK*43).

Alternatively, wrap specific plate characters in brackets to search against the included characters. For example, searching A[B8]C[L1]23 would yield any matches with B or 8 as the second character and L or 1 as the fourth: ABC123, ABCL23, A8C123, or A8CL23.

Owner

An owner search returns results for the officer who was operating the vehicle and signed into Fleet Dashboard when the plate was read. Begin typing a name to see a list of matches to select.

Date/time

Set a specific date and/or time range. The default search period is the prior 90 days. Note that while the maximum ALPR search range is up to one year, your agency’s retention policy may be less.
Axon Evidence ALPR calendar search showing the time selection options.

Hit/read category

Read record – License plate number read by the ALPR system that, at the time of capture, did not exist on any active hotlists.

Hit record – License plate number read by the ALPR system that, at the time of capture, existed on at least one active hotlists.

Search results

Display search results in list view or gallery view using the two icons at the top right of the results (see next image).

List view

This view presents a simple list of every record matching your search, including plate number, evidence owner, date the record was captured, and hit/read indicator.
Shows the list view of hit result thumbnails.

The date displayed may be a single date/time or a range. A range indicates the vehicle was spotted either multiple times in succession or stayed in frame for an extended period of time. The maximum rate at which additional records are collected is one record every two minutes with a maximum time-out-of-frame of 10 minutes.

For example, if a plate is read and then goes out of frame for nine minutes but then returns to frame, a subsequent read of that same plate is collected and recorded on the original read record. If that same plate goes out of frame for 11 minutes, a new record is created.

Gallery view

This view presents the same information but includes a thumbnail image of the evidence.
Shows the gallery view of hit result thumbnails.

Enable Bounding boxes at the top to place a box around the license plate.

Detail view

Hover over map markers for more detail on each hit or read record without having to open each record. View the data above the map marker or pin it to the right side of the map panel using .
Shows the popup detail pane when you hover over a hit result on the map.

Select View to open the detail panel. Details include category type, plate image, plate number, an overview image, record owner, capture date/time, and an option to convert to evidence, which can then be attached to a case.

Shows the hit record details panel.

If the plate was on a hotlist at the time it was collected, this view will include its hotlist record details.

To enlarge the view of the context image from the gallery or detail view, right-click it and select Open image in new tab.
Shows the Open image in new tab menu option.

Map-based search

When viewing search results, you can pan and zoom the map area, then use Search in this area Shows the previously described button. to apply the same search parameters for hits in the new area.
Shows the Search button at the bottom right of the map.

Polygon search

To search a specific area on the map:

  1. Select Draw polygon .
    Shows the Polygon search button on the map.
  2. Draw a shape (up to 20 non-intersecting points) on the map by clicking around the perimeter. Close the shape by either clicking again on the first point again or pressing Enter to auto-complete, at which point the area turns green.
    Shows a completed green Polygon search area on the map.
  3. If you make an error while drawing, use Undo to correct the shape or Cancel to remove the search area.
    Shows an in-progress Polygon search area on the map and the Undo and Cancel buttons at the left.
  4. Select Search in this area Shows the previously described button. (including any additional defined filters).

Export search results and schedule recurring reports

You can export your search results from the ALPR search page or set up recurring ALPR records reports as a downloadable .csv file.

To export search results:

  1. Search and filter records as described above.
  2. At the bottom of the search results window, select Export Results, then Export current search results to initiate the .csv download.
    Shows the Search and Export Results buttons under the map.
  3. To set up automated data retrieval, instead select Schedule recurring reports above, then define the frequency. Report run at 12:01 a.m. of the day following the requested period.
    • Daily – Runs the following day to report on the previous day’s data.
    • Weekly – Runs the following Monday to report on the previous week’s data.
    • Monthly – Runs the first day of the subsequent month to report on the previous month’s data.
    • Quarterly – Runs on the first day of the month of the following quarter to report on the previous quarter’s data.
    • Annually – Runs January 1st to report on the previous year’s data.

Delete records

Also on the Record Search tab, above the search results, is an option to delete ALPR records. Hover over a search(s) result to delete and select the checkbox , select Delete, provide a reason, and select Delete to confirm.
Highlights the Delete button above search results.   Shows the delete confirmation screen with Reason field and Delete button to confirm.

 

Use cases ï this topic ð Convert ALPR records to evidence

 

Last modified - 19 February 2026