Cherokee Sheriff’s Office fires, arrests employees over license plate reader misuse

Our Take

Credit where it's due: 11Alive is reporting something agencies almost never volunteer — that people with access to ALPR data misused it, and got caught only because Cherokee County ran its own internal audit. That's the part worth sitting with. These systems log who searched what and why, but someone actually has to look at those logs. Most departments don't, or won't say if they do.

This is the exact scenario privacy advocates have been pointing to for years: license plate reader networks aren't just passively watching the road, they're searchable databases that staff can query for personal reasons — stalking an ex, checking up on a neighbor, running plates for a friend. One audit in one Georgia county surfaced it. There's no reason to think Cherokee is uniquely bad; it's more likely uniquely willing to check.

If your local police or sheriff run Flock cameras, ask them directly: who audits the search logs, how often, and what happens when misuse turns up. Most won't have a good answer. Check our camera map to see what's deployed near you, and use our take-action guide to push your city council or county commission for real audit requirements before you find out the hard way.