Wabash, the LEO did secure my handgun and take it back to his car along with my LTCH permit.
Hello and welcome to the new guy.
I'm a dispatch supervisor for one of our larger cities. Maybe I can clarify a few things quickly.
1.) As an earlier poster noted before, local agencies have a database they can check that will list who has applied for and received a LTCH.
2.) The BMV experimented with a system that tied into ISP's firearms database that would indicate on your driver's licence inquiry return (information the officer gets back when he checks your driving status) whether or not you posses a LTCH. It did not work.
3.) An officer can request their dispatch run a LTCH check on a person through IDACS (Indiana Data and Communications System) that links into the ISP firearms sections database. The officer usually only does this to verify a person does in fact have a LTCH in the event the person claims they have one but can't produce it. Sometimes the officer wants one checked to verify it is authentic. Typically we need either your LTCH License#, or your Name & DOB to do this inquiry. The only information that is returned is the same information that is listed on your LTCH.
4.) There is no "tracking" of any sort indicating that you posses a firearm at the state/national level unless you have really screwed up and gotten on the radar of some Federal Law Enforcement agency that is trying to keep tabs on you. For instance...Secret Service flags people all the time as "persons of interest" and will indicate miscellaneous information on the return like "Check subj's for weapons and not what type, etc." Usually in this case it might be someone that has made public threats against the President or some other protectee and the USSS just wants to keep tabs on the individual. When a LEO runs their information it auto-notifies the USSS of which agency in the USA has made contact with the individual. The USSS usually follows up with a phone call later to determine the disposition.
Let me quantify the above by also stating that your local law enforcement agency/dispatch center may flag individuals with alerts, etc at an officer's request. There is no law that prevents them from doing so. In my agencies computer, we flag people that are known to be mental/emotional, have a history of resisting or battery on a police officer, and even flag people that have been known to carry scanners. Some LEO's in my agency also flag addresses of residences after they have responded and noticed a shotgun propped up behind a door or other firearms in the house. They do this for officer safety so that they know for future runs to an address that firearms are available to the "suspect." However, good police officers respond and react to all situations as if firearms or other dangers are always present, so I wouldn't expect to be treated differently.
Some LEO's in my agency also flag addresses of residences after they have responded and noticed a shotgun propped up behind a door or other firearms in the house. They do this for officer safety so that they know for future runs to an address that firearms are available to the "suspect." However, good police officers respond and react to all situations as if firearms or other dangers are always present, so I wouldn't expect to be treated differently.
I am in law enforcement and have not heard of any state wide effort to track LTCH holders through the BMV. Eventhough I would not be suprised if it was done in any other state than the great one of Indiana.