GERALDTON POLICE OFFICER’S CRIMINAL CASE ADJOURNED AGAIN

A serving WA Police senior constable facing a raft of criminal charges has had his court matter adjourned for a further two months.

Geraldton based Senior Constable Stuart Parsonage remains before the courts over allegations involving unlawful computer use, surveillance related offences and other serious matters.

Parsonage was initially charged earlier this year following an investigation by WA Police Sex Crime Squad detectives.

The original charges included:

• •3x counts of unlawful use of a computer
• •2x counts of unlawfully installing an optical surveillance device
• •1x count relating to unlawful possession of ammunition

WA Police previously confirmed some of the alleged offending was said to have occurred in a workplace, with other alleged conduct occurring at a private residence.

Parsonage was subsequently stood down from all police duties.

The case later expanded, with further charges laid against the officer, including an allegation of possessing child exploitation material.

Reporting has also previously raised allegations involving the use of police access in connection with some of the alleged offending.

The latest development means the matter will remain before the courts for at least another two months.

SAFEGUARDS AND POLICE ACCESS

This case also raises a broader public interest question about the safeguards surrounding police access to restricted systems and sensitive information.

That question is particularly relevant now, as WA Police expands its use of Live Facial Recognition technology in public places.

Police officers already have access to databases, intelligence systems and investigative tools unavailable to ordinary members of the public. Live facial recognition adds another powerful capability, allowing police technology to detect faces in public and compare biometric templates against predetermined alert lists.

WA Police is subject to Western Australia’s privacy laws, so it would be inaccurate to say the technology operates with no legal oversight.

However, WA still does not have legislation specifically dedicated to regulating police use of live facial recognition technology.

The trial is instead operating under existing policing powers, privacy requirements and WA Police’s own internal procedures, with individual deployments authorised internally by an officer at Superintendent level or above.

The issue is WA Police’s own Privacy Impact Assessment identified its highest privacy risk as information security, including the potential for biometric data to be retained beyond legal limits, inadequate deletion protocols, unauthorised access and insufficient encryption or audit trails.

The assessment also identified misuse of personal data as a potential consequence, although WA Police says controls have been implemented to reduce the residual privacy risk to low.

The state’s privacy regulator has also confirmed it was not formally involved in designing the trial.

As police gain access to increasingly powerful surveillance and biometric technology, are WA’s laws, independent oversight mechanisms and auditing controls keeping pace with the powers police now possess?

WA in Focus will continue to follow the matter as it progresses through the courts.

⚖️ The allegations against Senior Constable Parsonage have not been proven. He is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty in court