A serving policeman accused of accessing the NSW Police Force's internal database then passing on personal information about individuals and their registered vehicles to civilian associates has denied his actions were illegal, claiming he was simply performing his duties as an officer of the law.
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Senior Constable Dennis Hoyn, who lives in Fern Hill but is attached to the Campbelltown highway patrol unit, is facing six charges of wilful misconduct in public office.
On the opening day of Hoyn's Wollongong District Court trial on Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Justine Hopper said it will be alleged Hoyn used his unique log-in to access the polices database, known as COPS (Computerised Operational Policing System), on 11 separate occasions in 2018 at the request of four different associates.
The men requested Hoyn look up the registration details of 10 vehicles - one of which was revealed to belong to the NSW Police Force - and private details on three individuals.
On each occasion, Hoyn allegedly used his mobile phone to take a picture of what was contained on COPS, then sent it to the associate who had requested it.
While police officers are legally able to access the database in the course of carrying out their duties, the Crown alleges Hoyns access on each of these occasions had nothing to do with his job and was "unlawful and unjustified".
However, defence barrister Nicholas Moir said his client denied his actions had been illegal and foreshadowed the 46-year-old taking the stand in his own defence later in the trial.
"It is not in contest that he accessed COPS, nor is it in contest he recorded what he saw on the police computer", Mr Moir said.
"He will tell you his duty as a police officer, to his mind at least, never stopped 24 hours a day. In accessing the information and passing it on, he was performing his duty.....he was performing his sworn duty to keep the peace and to prevent crime."
One of the men to whom Hoyn allegedly passed confidential information was a Wollongong man Hoyn met at the Corrimal Hotel on the evening of December 4, 2018.
They struck up a conversation, during which the man allegedly asked Hoyn to look up details on an individual on the COPS database.
Hoyn allegedly agreed and carried out the search the following day.
The pair exchanged text messages that day during which they discussed the man having missed out on placing a bet on the result of an English premier league soccer game.
Hoyn lamented the man's loss, then told him "no money till pay day, the life of a punter".
The man then sent Hoyn a text message saying "I'll spare you a couple of hundred if you want until pay day", and Hoyn replied "cool, sounds great....see you at the pub".
A few hours later the man sent Hoyn another text message asking how he'd gone with "the homework".
"Did it match up?" the man asked Hoyn, who replied "no, nah nah nah, I'll show ya".
The pair met again at the hotel that evening and Hoyn allegedly passed the information on to the man, who allegedly gave Hoyn "a sum of money" throughout the evening.
Hoyn was arrested at the hotel that night by police attached the Professional Standards Command.
The trial continues.
