The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into a notification alleging that an officer in Central District misused the Police database to gain access to information about themselves. Police were alerted to the situation when the officer emailed a colleague to ask why they had searched their name in the database.
Police then conducted an audit of the officer’s database usage and found that they had created an alert on themselves in 2015, which would notify them every time they were queried in the database by any other member of Police. The alert was active until 2025, during which time it required renewing by the officer every two years.
Police investigated the matter and found that the test for prosecution regarding ‘Section 249 of the Crimes Act 1961 - Accessing computer system for dishonest purpose’ was not met. Police also completed an employment investigation. They determined the officer’s actions were not in accordance with Police policy and found the officer had engaged in misconduct.
The Authority is satisfied that a thorough investigation and an appropriate outcome was imposed.
IPCA: 25-26492