Concerns have been raised about Protective Service Officers collecting personal information from innocent bystanders, partly to show their superiors they have been working and, sometimes, to conduct on-the-spot criminal record checks.

PSOs recorded the name and date of birth of more than 29,000 people last year, including those not suspected of any wrongdoing. The information may be used, at PSOs' discretion, to conduct criminal record checks by radio.

Under no obligation: Protective Service Officers told visiting student Baljit Thind he had to give them his details. Credit:Angela Wylie

When questioned by The Saturday Age one PSO said another reason they wrote down people's details was to prove they had been working.

The acting Victorian Privacy Commissioner, David Watts, was unaware of the practice and said he was ''seeking comment and clarification from Victoria Police''.