Investigation summaries

Operation Genoa

09/10/2020

In early 2017, following a notification from Victoria Police, IBAC commenced an investigation called Operation Genoa that found a Detective Leading Senior Constable had engaged in unauthorised access, use and disclosure of police information.

In 2017, IBAC commenced Operation Genoa following a Victoria Police notification that information had been received that a Detective Leading Senior Constable was attending an adult entertainment venue and associating with the manager.

Operation Genoa sought to determine whether the Detective Leading Senior Constable had an inappropriate relationship with the manager, the extent of the relationship and whether the Detective Leading Senior Constable had any criminal involvement or was potentially compromised in his position as a Victoria Police officer.

  • IBAC found the Detective Leading Senior Constable had an ongoing association with the adult entertainment venue and received favourable treatment in the form of free entry and alcohol.

    IBAC also substantiated allegations the officer accessed Victoria Police information holdings to obtain information about his associates. On at least one occasion, the officer accessed and disclosed police information to an employee of the adult entertainment venue.

    The officer resigned from Victoria Police while under investigation. He was charged and subsequently pled guilty to two charges of unauthorised access to police information, one charge of unauthorised use of police information and one charge of unauthorised disclosure of police information. He was fined $3000 without conviction.

  • IBAC identified opportunities for Victoria Police to review its procedures for preventing and detecting information misuse, and to strengthen its audits of information systems. It was suggested that Victoria Police consult with the Office for Victorian Information Commissioner regarding these opportunities.

    Victoria Police responded in December 2018 regarding the development of a more robust information security framework.

    IBAC publishes responses to our investigations to inform the community about actions agencies advise they are taking, and to share learnings that may help other agencies improve their systems and practices to prevent corruption and misconduct.

Case study in HTML

Victoria Police notified IBAC that information had been received that a sworn member of Victoria Police, a Detective Leading Senior Constable (DLSC) was attending an adult entertainment venue and associating with the manager.

Operation Genoa sought to determine whether the DLSC had a continuing inappropriate relationship with the manager, the extent of the relationship and whether the DLSC had any criminal involvement and/or was potentially compromised in their position as a Victoria Police officer.

  • In the course of the investigation, a range of IBAC's powers were used including: issuing summonses for documentation and financial records; access of historic and prospective telecommunications data; telecommunication interception; the execution of search warrants and coercive examinations 

  • The DLSC resigned from Victoria Police while under investigation. Further, the DLSC was charged and subsequently pled guilty to two charges of unauthorised access to police information, one charge of unauthorised use of police information and one charge of unauthorised disclosure of police information. They were fined $3000 without conviction. 

  • IBAC found the officer had established an ongoing association with the adult entertainment venue and received favourable treatment in the form of free entry and alcohol. This treatment was not isolated to the officer, with the venue having a business practice of giving free entry to Victoria Police employees and other occupations and groups of people and supplying complimentary drinks. This practice can encourage police officers to give preferential treatment to these venues when enforcing the law. Operation Genoa also found the officer had substantial debt which placed them at risk of compromise. The officer was found to frequently drink alcohol to excess and drive their Victoria Police vehicle after consuming alcohol at the venue. 

    IBAC also substantiated allegations that the officer accessed Victoria Police information holdings, namely the Victoria Police's main database (LEAP), to obtain information about their associates, some of whom the officer met when they attended adult entertainment venues or through the sex work industry. On at least one occasion, the officer accessed and then disclosed police information to an employee of the adult entertainment venue. On another occasion, the officer accessed and used police information for the purpose of gaining the personal details of a sex worker they had hired, and had lent money to.

    IBAC identified opportunities for Victoria Police to review its procedures for preventing and detecting information misuse, and to consider ways to strengthen its audits of information systems. It was suggested that Victoria Police could consult with the Office for Victorian Information Commissioner regarding these opportunities. Victoria Police responded in December 2018 regarding the development of a more robust framework for information security.

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