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GREENSBORO — Police officials are examining how they manage a nonprofit account in light of the arrest of an officer accused of spending the money on himself.

Capt. Anita Holder is preparing a set of recommendations on how to manage the nonprofit account that funded the Safety Town program.

"There may be some business practices that change," she said.

Sgt. David A. Moore was arrested Monday, accused of taking money from the account while he was in charge of the program.

Moore, a 22-year veteran of the department, did not return a phone call Tuesday. No one answered the door at his home Tuesday morning.

In addition to taking more than $9,000 in cash, Moore bought electronics such as iPods, a Global Positioning System device and a digital camera for himself, according to a search warrant returned to the Guilford County Courthouse on Tuesday.

Moore, 45, of Climax, is charged with embezzling more than $21,000 from the nonprofit and spending it on himself.

"It's almost like stealing a year away from Safety Town," Holder said.

Moore had coordinated the program for more than six years . The search warrant said he was in charge of the program's finances for at least three years . He was released Monday evening from the Guilford County Jail on $10,000 bond .

Capt. Gary Hastings said it appears Moore, whose annual salary is $64,238, paid for the items through checks drawn on the account and a debit card connected to it.

According to the warrant, investigators were looking for receipts in Moore's home tied to purchases, including those from Costco, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy, Sam's Club, Golden Corral, EB Games and GameStop.

"It's too early in the investigation to know whether this money is the extent of it or if others were involved," Hastings said. "The investigation has centered on him to this point, but we are not ruling anything out."

Safety Town, a summer day camp for 5- and 6-year-olds, costs about $25,000 per year to run, Holder said. The camp covers topics such as traffic safety, poison and strangers.

The program is unique in the police department in that it is funded by donations and its account is separate from other department funds.

In August, when Moore was reassigned to the operational support division, Holder began a routine audit of the account. Moore failed to produce the account's documentation, so she got the records from the bank and noticed some transactions that "on their face appeared unauthorized," according to the warrant.

These included two $4,000 certified checks that Moore endorsed and deposited in his personal bank account and numerous purchases made outside of the program's normal span, which is a few weeks in the summer.

"There's such a paper trail involved, it's difficult to try to hide any type of illegal activity," said police spokesman Lt. Brian Cheek .

Holder said all checks drawn on Safety Town's account now require two signatures.

"The truth is, we hold police officers to a higher ethical standard," she said. "There are ways to embezzle money; we find it in the private sector all the time. It's just a little more surprising here. More disappointing."

Cpl. Robyn McDonald assumed leadership of Safety Town in August .

"This event alone will not stop us from holding Safety Town," Holder said. "We anticipate that the gates will be open next summer."

Hastings said abuse of a nonprofit program by police does strike at the integrity of the department — but that's not all people should take from the arrest.

"It's a very big integrity issue, but people should remember that honest police officers came forward with information on this," he said. "Honest police officers made this investigation and honest police officers arrested him."

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or selmquist@news-record.com