A Protective Services Officer has been charged with unauthorised release of information following a Victoria Police investigation.

It is alleged the Western Region PSO inappropriately accessed the police database in July last year.

He has been suspended without pay and served with his charges.

The man will appear at Ballarat Magistrates' Court on February 19.

This case is the latest in a string of controversies involving PSOs and authorised officers.

This week it was revealed police were launching an internal investigation after CCTV footage showed two teenage boys being sprayed with capsicum foam because one did not have a valid railway ticket.