POLAUX011
Participate in police investigations


Application

This unit describes the skills required to participate in police investigations, including initial response, exhibit management, interviewing and managing persons of interest.

This unit applies to those working as community policing staff, in metropolitan and/or remote areas.

The skills and knowledge described in this unit must be applied within the legislative, regulatory and policy environment in which they are carried out. Organisational policies and procedures must be consulted and adhered to, particularly those relating to work health and safety (WHS) and codes of conduct.

Those undertaking this unit would demonstrate autonomy, judgement and limited responsibility in known or changing contexts and within established parameters. They would complete routine and complex tasks in a range of sometimes unpredictable contexts.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to unit at the time of publication.


Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENTS

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

Elements describe the essential outcomes

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions section.

1. Respond to incident scene

1.1 Identify whether investigation of incident is required.

1.2 Identify persons of interest and potential witnesses to support the investigation.

1.3 Conduct search of incident scene to identify potential evidence for collection.

1.4 Provide guidance to junior members on identifying and securing incident scenes and evidence.

2. Collect exhibits

2.1 Consider exhibits to identify whether they should be collected or left undisturbed for further examination.

2.2 Select packaging for exhibits for preservation and contamination prevention.

2.3 Handle exhibits in a manner which minimises contamination and maintains integrity.

2.4 Ensure continuity of evidence to maintain the evidentiary value of exhibits.

2.5 Record details of exhibits for evidentiary purposes.

3. Consider information and evidence related to incident/crime scene

3.1 Assess information and evidence for potential relevance to investigation.

3.2 Identify and gather potential evidence for recording and investigation purposes.

3.3 Review incident to determine whether an offence has occurred.

4. Support interview process

4.1 Identify potential interviewees to facilitate investigation.

4.2 Assess welfare of interviewee to determine fitness for interview.

4.3 Take statements from interviewee to support investigations.

4.4 Participate in offender interview to support judicial process.

4.5 Ensure chronology of information is accurately recorded.

5. Conduct searches

5.1 Determine search options in accordance with legislated police powers.

5.2 Conduct risk assessment to protect safety of self, colleagues and public.

5.3 Plan search according to investigation requirements and resource constraints.

5.4 Conduct searches in a manner that minimises risk to self and organisational reputation.

Evidence of Performance

Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified the candidate must demonstrate evidence of performance of the following on at least one occasion.

securing and preserving incident scene and evidence while ensuring the safety of self, colleagues and public

communicating with internal and external stakeholders

identifying persons relevant to the investigation, including witnesses, victims and persons of interest

gathering information and evidence to determine nature of crimes committed

determining options and facilitating transport of individuals in accordance with jurisdictional policies and procedures


Evidence of Knowledge

Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified the depth of knowledge demonstrated must be appropriate to the job context of the candidate.

jurisdictional policies and procedures relating to exhibit management, including packaging and storage

jurisdictional legislation, policies and procedures relating to scene establishment and searches of scenes


Assessment Conditions

This unit contains no specific industry-mandated assessment conditions. Guidance on suggested and recommended conditions and methods can be found in the Implementation Guide.

Assessors must satisfy the NVR/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.


Foundation Skills

The foundation skills demands of this unit have been mapped for alignment with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The following tables outline the performance levels indicated for successful attainment of the unit.

Further information on ACSF and the foundation skills underpinning this unit can be found in the Foundation Skills Guide on the GSA website.


Competency Field

Auxiliary