An ACT Policing officer misused the Australian Federal Police database, helped his mate get a job with the AFP, looked up information for his criminal friends and hunted for an apartment with his official email.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
ACT Policing and AFP officers face two years jail for accessing information off the Police Real-Time Management Information System (PROMIS) not in line with their official duties.
They are also required to only use their AFP email for their official duties.
But over a period of 10 years, one ACT Policing officer accessed PROMIS multiple times to look up information for his friends or pass on police information.
The misuse is a potentially jailable offence and is detailed in an internal conduct report published under freedom of information laws.
The report said an audit of the officer's use of PROMIS found he had looked up information on cases he wasn't involved in.
Investigators also found the officer had been using police resources to help a friend get a job with the AFP.
The officer had contacted a body corporate to organise a lease at a Canberra apartment complex with his official email address.
ACT Policing was contacted for comment. The AFP would not provide further information.
Do you know more? Get in touch via finbar.omallon@fairfaxmedia.com.au or by downloading the app Signal on your smart phone and contacting 0437 464 126.
The AFP's internal watch dog, Professional Standards, was first warned about the officer's criminal associations in 2014 by an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip off.
When approached by investigators, it is understood the ACT police officer described a known criminal he contacted with and passed on information to as a "close personal friend".
Their investigation into this association led Professional Standards onto the officer's other misuses of police resources.
The investigation was dropped in December 2015 due to "the complexity of the investigation and its overlap with other active matters".
However, Protective Services picked up the investigation again in May 2016, noting six misconduct issues including unacceptable use of AFP systems, associating with known criminals and releasing police information for non-official purposes.
The offences detailed include revelations in 2009 a friend of the officer asked him for sample interview questions and the selection criteria for an unspecified role at the AFP.
He informed her she'd been placed on a short list for the position, in response to which she asked for a security check pack to complete so she could start work immediately if offered the position.
Neither the AFP nor ACT Policing would confirm if the woman had been successful in her application and if she remained a member of the AFP or ACT Policing.
The investigation also found in 2013 the officer had used his email address to contact a body corporate and organise a lease on an apartment.
It is understood in 2008 the officer contacted two case officers on two related cases, asking them to take actions in the case but did not disclose he knew the people involved in the cases.
In 2014 the officer accessed ACT drivers license details despite not having a reason to. It is unclear what he did with that information.
Between 2004 and 2014, the officer accessed case files on PROMIS despite not being involved in those cases.
Despite investigators determining the officer had abused his access to PROMIS, they were unable to prove he benefited from the use.
However, the final report from 2017 concluded the officer should be dismissed from ACT Policing.
