Evidence in dozens of court cases under review after forensics officer arrested

Evidence in dozens of criminal cases before the courts is under a cloud after the arrest and suspension of a digital forensics officer with Victoria Police.

Police say they have identified 77 ongoing court cases that might be affected by the officer’s work, and at least 46 of these require “data re-extraction and analysis”.

Bendigo Court.Credit: James Davies

The Age understands that the staff member worked as a digital forensic officer in Bendigo between June 2016 and August 2025.

A letter police sent to Victorian defence lawyers obtained by this masthead says the officer’s role was “providing specialist digital forensic expertise to investigators in the search, seizure, and preservation of digital evidence, primarily through the extraction and examination of devices”.

On Wednesday, police said in a statement: “The staff member is currently suspended with pay and that investigation remains ongoing.

“That process is currently being undertaken by the cybercrime squad. The overall assessment process remains ongoing.

“As the investigation also remains ongoing, we will not be commenting further at this time.”

Police have not specified in their media statement or the letter to lawyers exactly what the officer allegedly did wrong or the types of criminal cases affected by the audit they are undertaking.

They have also not specified whether court cases that have been resolved – such as through convictions and prison sentences – are being reviewed as part of the audit.

In Victoria, forensic staff aid the courts and the justice process through written reports or in-person testimony. The aim of this is to provide unbiased evidence that can assist courts and juries to understand what happened in a case.

The Age has contacted Victorian Legal Aid for comment.

More to come

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