NSW Police officers are being charged with illegally accessing restricted data, and two of those matters are before the Belmont Local Court.
In one case, Sergeant Shannon Daniel Cooper, 47, of Belmont station, was charged in March 2026 and pleaded guilty on 4 June 2026 to unauthorised access of restricted data in the NSW Police COPS (Computerised Operational Policing System) database. It is alleged he accessed COPS six times the day after police searched a former colleague’s home in a domestic violence investigation, then passed on investigative details through roughly 150 text messages and about 10 calls over six days. The conduct came to light when another officer noticed the texts, triggering a COPS audit. One message in evidence read, “I just snuck a look at the event.” He is due to be sentenced in August 2026.
The second matter is an allegation in its early stages. A 33-year-old Southern Region constable was arrested on 19 March 2026 under Strike Force Dalton, a NSW Police Professional Standards Command operation. It is alleged that he unlawfully accessed police information and disclosed it to people believed to be connected to criminal elements. He was charged with misconduct in public office, a common-law offence rather than the computer offence, and faced Wollongong Local Court on 5 May 2026, and was suspended without pay. He is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
With multiple Professional Standards Command strike forces running, this reads as a systemic crackdown rather than a string of isolated incidents.
The Offence Most People Misunderstand
Here is the reframe that gets lost in the headlines. The core charge under section 308H of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) is “unauthorised access to or modification of restricted data held in a computer”. It is not a “police offence”, and it is not a “hacker offence”.
There is no hacking required. There is no break-in. There is no malware. Simply looking at data you are not authorised to see, while knowing you should not, is a crime.
To convict, the prosecution must prove three things: that you caused unauthorised access to, or modification of, restricted data held in a computer; that you knew the access was unauthorised; and that you intended to cause it. “Restricted data” means data protected by an access control system, such as a password or login. That captures the police COPS system. It equally captures a workplace customer database, an HR system, or a patient record system.
How These Cases Are Actually Proven
These matters are rarely proven by confession. They are proven by the system itself.
Both Belmont-region matters surfaced through detection and audit. The COPS database contains more than 40 million records, and NSW Police conducts audits designed to detect misuse. An audit log shows who accessed what and when. Add text messages and phone records, and a prosecutor can assemble a detailed timeline before anyone is interviewed.
In practical terms, by the time a charge is laid, much of the digital trail already exists. That is exactly why early advice matters. What you say in an interview, and the explanation you give about authorisation and knowledge, can shape the whole case. Getting in front of it early is far better than reacting after the fact.
Hamilton Janke Can Help
A section 308H charge is serious, but it is defensible. Real questions of knowledge and authorisation arise in these matters, and a charged person, including a police officer, is a defendant entitled to a strong and considered defence.
If you have been charged with, or are being investigated over, unauthorised access to restricted data, contact us for confidential advice. The earlier you reach out, the more we can do to protect your position.
