A Victoria police sergeant is under investigation for leaking confidential information.

But the department is refusing to disclose the officer's name, the nature of the material leaked or how it got out.

The department received allegations Sept. 11 that an officer, described as a senior sergeant, improperly disclosed confidential department information, said police spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton.

"I cannot comment on the nature or specific details of what confidential information may have been released, but I can tell you that there was more than one allegation," Hamilton told reporters at a news conference Thursday.

Hamilton did rule out three types of information. The material had nothing to do with any ongoing criminal investigation, nor was it connected with the hiring of a new chief for the department, or former chief Paul Battershill.

Deputy Chief John Ducker reviewed the allegations and made the decision to contact the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner to request an external investigation, Hamilton said.

The OPCC appointed officers from the Abbotsford and Delta police departments on Wednesday to look into the allegations. An external disciplinary authority has also been named, Deputy Chief Clayton Pecknold of the Central Saanich police.

The investigators have six months to report their findings to Pecknold, unless an extension is requested and granted. The officer has been suspended with pay until the investigation is complete.

Hamilton said the external investigation was called for in the interest of transparency.

"The Victoria Police Department takes it responsibility to protect the integrity of confidential information very seriously," he said. "If a member feels that confidential information should be disclosed in the public interest, there avenues available for that."

The department had the option of having an internal officer, the chief or a deputy chief, serve as discipline authority. Hamilton would not say why Ducker felt it was "prudent" to request an external officer fill that role

Ducker, who was present at the news conference, declined to comment further.

Hamilton said the department would disclose more information about the investigation when it could.

"I wish I could tell you more, but you have to understand I have to respect the integrity of the investigation," Hamilton said in response to a reporter's question.

A Victoria police officer, Const. Rae Robertis, was disciplined earlier in the year after admitting he distributed a flyer around a Saanich neighbourhood featuring a picture and description of a 20-year-old sexual assault suspect living in the area.

Robertis' case was handled internally, the discipline handed down was additional training on internal communications policy and privacy legislation, Hamilton announced in January.

Complaints about improper release of information are not common but not unheard of, said Bruce Brown, B.C.'s deputy police complaints commissioner.

"I wouldn't say it's an everyday occurence, but there have been other incidences of the release of confidential information over the last few years, which have usually been identified by the police themselves and reported to us," he said.

While Victoria police have had a series of high-profile problems over the past year, Brown said the force's second-place rank in number of complaints received after Vancouver is consistent with the fact it's the province's second largest department and polices both a downtown and the capital.

Last year, the OPCC opened 80 complaint files for Victoria. Of those, 35 have been closed; six complaints were substantiated, 15 were resolved informally and 14 were withdrawn.

kvass@vicnews.com