UPDATE 07/05 - Two more officers have been suspended.

ORIGINAL 06/05 - Two Victoria Police officers have been suspended over an unauthorised disclosure.

The Victoria Police Professional Standards Command has confirmed Senior Constable Shane Reid and a senior constable from the southern-metropolitan region have been suspended for sharing photographs of an arrested man.

Reports say they could be charged with unauthorised disclosure of information after taking photos of a man in police custody and sharing them via WhatsApp.

The offence carries a maximum of two years’ prison.

It is illegal for police to use or disclose police information without reasonable excuse, and Robinson Gill lawyer Jeremy King says Victoria Police is at risk of being sued over the incident.

“There’s certainly an argument for civil litigation against Victoria Police,” Mr King told The Age.

“It’s clearly a breach of confidential information and it’s done with reckless indifference and it’s clearly going to cause harm and damage.

“It’s got to be one of the most shocking breaches of privacy I’ve seen in recent memory.”

Mr King said misfeasance in public office usually involves an official committing an unauthorised or unlawful act recklessly with the intention or reckless indifference to the harm caused.

“This case is pretty simple - it’s clearly unlawful,” Mr King said.

A civil case may question the psychological harm to the man in the photographs, whose lawyer has already told the court he is suffering from a psychiatric illness.

The mugshot was shared broadly on social media along with a photograph taken inside the police station - shot through the glass wall of an interview room - which showed the man being questioned by two uniformed officers.

Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said the photos were shared with numerous other people.

“I am appalled that an employee of Victoria Police has taken these photographs,” Mr Patton said on Monday.

“It's unacceptable conduct, it's appalling conduct and that type of conduct has no place in our organisation.”

Criminal Bar Association of Victoria chair Daniel Gurvich, QC, says that police risk the administration of justice when they misuse information.

“It places at risk the right to a fair hearing and it risks the due consideration of evidence, which ought to be properly put before the court,” Mr Gurvich said.

“That is especially so at an early stage where investigations may be ongoing and, of course, the presumption of innocence applies and continues to apply until it is displaced by a properly constituted court or tribunal.”