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​Perth cop accessed restricted computer

A 30-year-old Perth constable will remain on duty, despite being charged for allegedly accessing a restricted computer.
Written by Aimee Chanthadavong, Contributor

A young Perth police officer will remain on duty despite being charged for using a restricted force computer.

The 30-year-old constable is alleged to have accessed the computer in April and will face Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.

"The officer remains on operational duty," WA Police said in a statement.

In June, two Queensland police officers were charged on separate occasions for alleged unauthorised access and disclosure of confidential information accessed via the Queensland Police Service Qprime [Queensland Police Records and Information Management Exchange] database system.

The first incident saw a 38-year-old constable stand down and serve a notice by the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) to appear in court regarding allegations he inappropriately accessed and released confidential information from the state's police database.

The officer was charged with one count of misconduct in relation to public office, and another of improperly disclosing information in breach of the Police Service Administration Act or alternatively computer hacking and misuse.

The second officer, a 47-year-old sergeant from the Brisbane region, was also served a notice to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for three counts of misconduct in relation to public office, and three alternative charges of computer hacking and misuse, which are in breach of the Queensland Criminal Code, following an investigation by the CCC.

Meanwhile, a separate incident saw former Gold Coast bikini model Renee Eaves announce in an impact statement posted on her personal website dated June 2016 that she was going to lodge a formal complaint against Queensland Police, alleging her personal files on Qprime were accessed 1,475 times.

Under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Act 2015 that was passed by the Australian government last March and came into effect in October, law-enforcement agencies such as state police forces are able to access customers' call records, location information, IP addresses, billing information, and other data stored for two years by telcos, without a warrant.

In a recent report by the Queensland CCC, it revealed the Queensland Police made up 67 percent of the around 400 allegations of information misuse in the state during 2014-15.

With AAP

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