Crime10 September, 20262 min read
Albany County Sheriff Investigator Laurie Moore Charged With Misusing Flock Cameras To Track Ex-Girlfriend
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Laurie Moore, 47, Albany County Sheriff's Office investigator, charged with misusing Flock camera data. Alleged 3,000 unauthorized searches using Flock to track ex-girlfriend and others.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Flock misuse in Albany
An Albany County sheriff’s investigator, Laurie Moore, 47, was charged with misdemeanor counts of second-degree falsifying business records and official misconduct after Apple said the investigation began when the department was notified of irregularities in searches.
Times Union reported that Moore was accused of improperly accessing state Department of Vehicle records for unofficial purposes, and that Apple said the public places “tremendous trust in law enforcement and in our ability to use these tools responsibly.”
WRGB said Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple stated Moore was accused of conducting more than 4,000 unauthorized searches involving five people known to her, including tracking a former girlfriend’s vehicle around 3,000 times.
WRGB also said Moore’s access to the Flock system dated roughly to the end of 2024, and that she was due to appear in New Scotland Town Court at 5 p.m. on Sept. 24.
Audit expands, access tightened
WRGB said Apple described the case as expanding beyond initial findings, stating, “As professional standards and in-house counsel expanded the audit, the true scope emerged,” and it reported that an additional command staff member was placed on administrative leave. BNO News said Apple ordered an audit after an outside source reported that an investigator was using the Flock camera network, and it reported that the audit initially found Moore had run about 200 searches on a single vehicle before investigators later found she tracked that vehicle about 3,000 times.
Times Union reported that Apple said protocols were changed so that only supervisors have access to Flock cameras and that he ordered an audit of searches to be conducted every 30 days. WRGB added that Apple said it does not appear that any other members of the agency have engaged in unauthorized vehicle tracking, while Moore was suspended indefinitely from the Sheriff’s Office pending further administrative action.
Broader scrutiny of LPRs
Times Union said Flock Safety announced it was making changes to its platform intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses, and it described the company’s nationwide network of automated cameras that record license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles.
“It finds missing kids and gives families answers that they otherwise would not have.”
Times Union reported that the Washington Post found nearly 50 instances of police officers charged with or accused of using the cameras for unauthorized purposes, and it also cited an Associated Press report that in August six employees of the Savannah Police Department in Georgia were fired after they were accused of searching for friends and family using the tool.
WRGB quoted District Attorney Lee Kindlon saying, “It finds missing kids and gives families answers that they otherwise would not have. It is invaluable and it is worth protecting,” while also saying “Which is exactly why we cannot be let it used in any other way.”
In the same coverage, Times Union said Apple acknowledged skepticism about the Flock cameras and called Moore’s case a “major setback” in his advocacy for automated license plate readers, while saying, “This is breaching trust. We took the appropriate action.”