Application
This unit describes the skills required to provide policing responses, including performing proactive police duties, developing and applying knowledge of the local policing area, understanding police intelligence, responding to incidents, and preserving scenes and evidence. This needs to be done according to professional standards while ensuring a positive presence is maintained.
This unit applies to those working in a policing environment, commonly in a general duties role.
The skills and knowledge described in this unit must be applied within the current legislative, regulatory and policy environment in which they are carried out. Organisational policies and procedures must be consulted and adhered to, particularly those related to incident response, command and control, emergency management and scene preservation.
Those undertaking this unit would primarily work independently or under limited or indirect supervision, while performing specific tasks in a broad range of contexts. They would be required to interpret behaviours, apply decision making and problem solving skills and develop solutions.
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. Perform proactive policing duties | 1.1 Plan patrols in accordance with jurisdictional and unit objectives. 1.2 Conduct patrols for crime prevention and public safety purposes. 1.3 Gather information through patrol activities. 1.4 Interpret and share information with authorised stakeholders. 1.5 Assess information and intelligence to inform policing services. |
2. Develop and apply knowledge of the local policing area | 2.1 Identify sources of information for policing intelligence purposes. 2.2 Evaluate information to determine relevance to local policing area. 2.3 Assess local policing area to identify particular areas of focus for policing services. 2.4 Establish communication lines and networks with individuals/communities. 2.5 Develop policing responses based on gathered local policing area information and intelligence. 2.6 Assess local policing area issues for reporting and intelligence purposes. |
3. Develop police intelligence | 3.1 Use current jurisdictional strategies, objectives, initiatives and priorities to inform policing responses. 3.2 Assess persons or groups of interest to identify particular areas of focus for policing purposes. 3.3 Identify trends to assess potential impact on local policing area. 3.4 Access sources of information to inform policing responses. |
4. Respond to incidents | 4.1 Assess nature of incident to identify risk and policing response options. 4.2 Identify resources required for policing response to incident. 4.3 Plan policing response taking into account the nature of the incident and other impacting factors. 4.4 Implement response in a manner which minimises risk to safety of self, colleagues and public. 4.5 Assess the incident on continually to adjust policing response. 4.6 Conduct briefings and debriefings to ensure the sharing of information. 4.7 Identify follow up actions to adjust or inform policing response. 4.8 Evaluate policing response for quality management and self-reflection purposes. |
5. Preserve incident scene and evidence | 5.1 Identify primary and secondary or subsequent incident scenes for further investigation. 5.2 Secure scenes to protect evidence and for further investigation purposes. 5.3 Identify persons of interest at the incident scene for further investigation purposes. 5.4 Secure evidence to support policing, court and judicial processes. |
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.
presenting oneself in a professional manner
conducting planned patrols and engaging with community members
collecting and assessing information and intelligence for reporting purposes
identifying areas of focus for policing responses based on persons/groups of interest, jurisdictional goals, trends, and sources of information
developing, implementing and continually assessing policing responses based on situational requirements, available resources, and risks
identifying primary and subsequent incident scenes, and associated persons of interest
securing and preserving incident scenes and evidence
minimising risks to self, colleagues and public
completing required post-incident actions, including debriefings, follow up actions, reports and response reviews
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.
patrol processes, in line with jurisdictional policies and procedures
jurisdictional command and control/incident response policies and procedures
capabilities, powers and authorities of services external to policing
inter-agency emergency management arrangements
role and responsibilities of police in emergency management incidents
scene preservation and examination procedures
duty of care and use of force responsibilities
jurisdictional laws, by-laws and regulations relating to offences against persons and property
jurisdictional laws, by-laws and regulations covering discrimination and disability
jurisdictional policies covering reactive operational safety issues and practices
reporting requirements in relation to operational activities
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.
Consideration must be given to holistic assessment for this unit. Refer to advice in the companion volumes.
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
General