a day ago
Judge tells former protective services officer who revealed protected material to 'reassess his future'
The ACT's Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker has told a former protective services officer he will have to "reassess his future" after he was convicted of revealing protected information.
Daniel Jurgens, 29, has been given a two-year good behaviour order after pleading guilty to a charge of revealing the material, on three separate occasions.
In one instance he shared CCTV footage of himself being allegedly assaulted in a Canberra watch house, in a text message to a family member.
The other two incidents involved sharing information gained from police material, about two relatives, with another family member.
His lawyer, Kevin Raison, told the court it was a breach.
"He shouldn't have done it," Mr Raison said.
But he said within the work environment there was a culture where others watched the CCTV footage.
He told the court Jurgens was suspended with pay, but his income fell dramatically with no penalty rates, causing financial stress on his family.
The court heard Jurgens also suffered PTSD in part from the investigation.
Mr Raison asked the court to consider that Jurgens had derived no personal gain and asked for a non-conviction order.
But Prosecuting Barrister James Maher argued against the idea.
He said Jurgens was under an obligation to keep the material secret.
Mr Maher pointed out Jurgens had not long graduated from training, when he would have had to sign agreements to recognise his obligations.
He also reminded the court about Jurgens's comment to a family member when he said: "It's all sensitive stuff don't tell anyone."
Mr Maher said he was clearly aware of what was wrong about his actions.
He said such disclosures undermine the public confidence in the police.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said she accepted Jurgens's remorse was genuine, but rejected his non-conviction application.
She said because there were three instances, it was clearly not an isolated incident, in circumstances where he must have been aware of his obligations, especially since he hoped to eventually become a police officer.
But she did advise him to "reassess his future".
As well as the good behaviour order, Jurgens will have to pay a security of $2,000.
