The application of this unit in the workplace - the environments, complexities and situations involved - will be written during Phase II of the Review of the PUA00 Public Safety Training Package.

This text will be useful for the purposes of job descriptions, recruitment advice or job analysis; where possible, it will not be too job specific to allow other industries to import it into other Training Packages, where feasible.

Prerequisite Unit/s

Nil

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Assist in maintaining a police presence

1.1 Positive presence maintained in interaction with community

1.2 Cultural identity accepted and used to facilitate interaction with community

1.3 Parameters of action in relation to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities agreed with police partner(s) or senior officers

1.4 All actions consistent with assigned powers and organisational guidelines

2. Assist in communication with members of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community

2.1 Advice given on cultural issues affecting police and members of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities

2.2 Particular misunderstandings in communication between other police and members of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities identified and resolved

2.3 Interpreting assistance provided subject to organisational guidelines

3. Advise on possible solutions to problems arising with members of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities

3.1 Situations are identified where own intervention as a member of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community is advisable (or ill advised) and senior officers or partners informed accordingly

3.2 Senior officers and colleagues are informed of general cross-cultural issues arising in interaction between police and members of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities

3.3 "Win-win" or face-saving solutions are offered when cross-cultural misunderstandings create or aggravate conflict between police and members of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities

4. Develop trust with members of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities

4.1 Members of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities are assisted in access to service providers

4.2 Members of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities are assisted in their relations with police

4.3 Members of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities are informed of the extent of assistance available

4.4 Undertakings given to members of the culturally specific community are within the power of the officer concerned

4.5 Community leaders, organisations and service providers are accessed and involved, to divert community members from the criminal justice system

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level, required for this unit.

Required Skills

Communication: oral and written

Negotiation

Required Knowledge

Names, family connections and character of community members encountered

Role of police and justice system

Communication rules and patterns of the specific community

Role of service providers

Community language or dialect and cultural values

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

It is essential for this unit that competence be demonstrated in the officer's ability to cultivate the trust and cooperation of members of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community

Consistency in performance

Evidence should be gathered over a period of time in a range of actual or simulated workplace environments

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Context of assessment

Evidence should be gathered over a period of time in a range of actual or simulated workplace environments

Specific resources for assessment

No special implications

Guidance information for assessment

Information that will assist or guide assessment will be written during Phase II of the Review of the PUA00 Public Safety Training Package.

The Range Statement relates to the Unit of Competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording in the Performance Criteria is detailed below.

Cultural identity

Accepted identification as a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent including membership of a particular land, linguistic, clan, skin or kin groups and ceremonial status where applicable

Community

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people as a group within Australian society or a particular local community of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people

Parameters of action

These should cover modes of approach, communication patterns, allocation of roles etc.

Assigned powers and organisational guidelines

Designated Liaison Officers may lack any police powers; Community Police Officers may have powers restricted to certain groups, areas or offences

Advisable intervention

Normally the specialist officer would take the primary role in dealing with members of his or her specific community

Service providers

To include other government agencies, voluntary organisations and community organisations

This unit contains employability skills.