A Queensland police employee has been suspended and faces criminal charges for allegedly selling the personal information of a domestic violence victim to a former partner, who was later accused of stalking.
The police employee, a 46-year-old woman from the Queensland road policing command, will face court on Friday.
In a statement on Thursday, the Queensland police service said the employee had been suspended and charged with one count of stalking and four counts of computer hacking.
“Between 2021 and 2023 the employee allegedly accessed information on the Queensland Police Service system and released the information to a domestic violence respondent (a person subject to the conditions of a domestic violence protection order).
“The DV respondent has then used the information to stalk a DV aggrieved.
“It will be further alleged the DV respondent paid the subject member for the information.
“The employee has been suspended from the QPS and is not currently in the workplace.”
The Queensland police service has faced a reckoning in recent years in relation to cultural issues and the treatment of domestic and family violence victims.
Much of the momentum for a commission of inquiry into those cultural problems came from the case of the former senior sergeant Neil Punchard, who leaked the details of an abuse victim to her violent former husband.
Punchard was initially disciplined by the QPS, but not sacked or charged. It was only after public pressure – and a campaign from the victim, Julie* – that Punchard was eventually convicted of nine counts of computer hacking and forced out of the QPS.
Julie also fought a lengthy battle with police for compensation.
• In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
