Former NSW Police officer Marshall Edwards sentenced for accessing or modifying restricted data

A former cop officer unlawfully used restricted data to monitor his ex-wife and her new partner by using another constable’s log-in details and drove past her workplace while on duty.

Former NSW Police officer Marshall Edwards pleaded guilty to five counts of accessing or modifying data held in a computer. Picture: Gaye Gerard

A former NSW police officer unlawfully used restricted data to monitor his ex-wife and her new partner by using another constable’s log-in details and drove past her workplace and home while on duty after their divorce.

Marshall Edwards, 37, appeared before Bankstown Local Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to five counts of accessing or modifying restricted data held in a computer after an internal police investigation began in December 2021 after he accessed information to observe his former wife, whom he was married to for seven years.

Documents tendered to court state between July and October 2021 Edwards had unauthorised access to NSW police data relating to his ex-wife, including her residential address, work premises and her friend and associates.

“Edwards also while on duty used the NSW Police computer system to conduct checks on vehicles associated with the victim or parked at or near the victim’s address,” the facts state.

Edwards was working with a senior constable when he drove into the carpark of his ex-wife’s workplace to look for “my ex-misses’ car”.

“Edwards drove down all the lanes of the carpark and the senior constable said ‘I want nothing to do with your problems, just drive out of here and keep me out of it’.”

The pair returned to Campbelltown station and a vehicle inquiry was used on a Mobipol device – a handheld NSW Police computer system – under the login details of the senior constable who denied giving Edwards permission to use his profile.

At the time, the vehicle was the father of the man Edwards believed had an affair with his ex-wife.

The former officer used a Mobipol device to search vehicles parked near or at his ex-wife’s residence.

Five months later, Edwards drove to his ex-wife’s house with a probationary constable who he instructed to search the registration of a vehicle parked outside.

When the constable asked Edwards what the search was for he said: “The address where the vehicle is parked is my ex-partner’s address and this must be the new guy she is seeing.”

“Edwards completed a U-turn driving past the address a further time and tried to duck down and hide while driving past,” the facts state.

In another instance, Edwards was working with a probationary constable when he told them to “drive quickly past another house”, his ex-wife’s home, but became “disgruntled” after he saw cameras around the house.

The probationary constable was asked to search the registration of a vehicle parked outside which belonged to a friend of Edwards’ ex-wife.

Edward’s lawyer said NSW Police no longer employed him and “curiosity got the better of him”.

The police prosecutor argued Edward’s actions were “calculated” and was “not a single isolated incident” because he involved junior colleges.

Magistrate Shane McAnulty convicted Edwards and sentenced him to an 18-month intensive correction order and to complete 200 hours of community service work.