# A cop ran 4,000 illegal plate searches

> An Albany County investigator allegedly used Flock's camera network to track her ex 3,000 times.
- Title: A cop ran 4,000 illegal plate searches · Futurism | Shortify
- Summary: An Albany County investigator allegedly used Flock's camera network to track her ex 3,000 times. License plate reader networks hand every officer a personal…
- Keywords: surveillance, policing, flock, privacy, license plate readers, science, technology, cop, ran, 000, illegal, plate
- Source: Futurism — https://futurism.com/future-society/police-investigator-flock-alpr-abuse-4000-illegal-searches
- Author: Joe Wilkins
- Published: 2026-09-13T10:01:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: surveillance, policing, flock, privacy, license plate readers, science, technology
## The backlash was not excessive
A veteran police investigator was arrested for running more than 4,000 unauthorized searches through Flock Safety's license plate reader system.
## Five people, two years
Albany County Sheriff's senior investigator Laurie Moore was arrested Wednesday, accused of illegally querying five different subjects over roughly two years.
## 3,000 hits on an ex
One target was reportedly Moore's ex-girlfriend, whose plate was searched 3,000 separate times. Four other plates were queried hundreds of times each.
## Two misdemeanors
Moore was suspended and charged with official misconduct and second-degree falsifying business records. A second unnamed employee is on administrative leave pending an internal review.
## The sheriff is heartbroken
Craig Apple praised Moore even while announcing the arrest, a reminder that the person abusing the system is often the one nobody suspects.

> She was an outstanding investigator, one of my absolute best employees.
## 227 cases and counting
The office cut Flock access for non-supervisory staff and added monthly Internal Affairs audits. Savannah police saw similar arrests, and the Institute for Justice has logged 227 US cases of ALPR abuse.
## Key takeaway

License plate reader networks hand every officer a personal surveillance tool, and nobody was checking the logs until someone got caught.