Planning for Career Success: AFP Crime Investigation Officer Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of career planning for a crime investigation officer within the Australian Federal Police (AFP). It begins with an introduction to career planning and its importance, followed by an analysis of the ideal industry, which is the AFP itself, detailing its functions and responsibilities. The report then identifies the ideal job option as a crime investigation officer, outlining the required skills such as interpersonal, problem-solving, and observation skills, along with the necessary education and training, including high school diplomas and relevant degrees in fields like forensic science. The report also covers the job prospects, including salary expectations and working hours, and the potential for career advancement within the AFP. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and offers recommendations for aspiring crime investigation officers. The report also includes a list of references.

PLANNING FOR CAREER
SUCCESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
FINDINGS.......................................................................................................................................3
1. Ideal Industry Overview.....................................................................................................3
2. Ideal Job Option.................................................................................................................4
3. Skills and Knowledge required for Job..............................................................................5
4. Education and Training for Job..........................................................................................6
5. Job Prospects......................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Career planning can be defined as activity that helps person in getting success in their
occupation (Horswell, 2016). Evolving and changing workplace practices are creating difficulties
for people to manage their career but improvement in skills and attributes is beneficial in
achieving own goal. Recently I am studying criminology and I want to work in AFP (Australian
Federal Police) as crime investigation officer. Present study will give brief summary of this
industry and will explain skills required to perform this job effectively. Furthermore, study will
explain education and training pathways for this job. Prospects of crime investigation officer
occupation such as salary, working hours etc. will be described in this report.
FINDINGS
1. Ideal Industry Overview
Australian federal police (AFP) is the law enforcement agency, the major function of this
industry is to make community policing and investigate crimes in Australia. The industry has
prepared fraud control plans, preventions, reporting mechanism so that crime rate in the country
can be minimized (Dioso-Villa and et.al, 2016). The Australian Federal Police or AFP was
formed on 19th October 1979 under Australian Federal Police Act 1979. It is an agency of federal
law enforcement working for the Australian Government. It has approximately 6900 employees
working for them. It is headquartered at Edmund Barton building, Canberra. This is an
independent agency of Home Affairs Department and is responsible to the Minister for Home
Affairs and accountable to the Parliament of Australia (One organisation - a million possibilities,
2018). The main functions of AFP is to investigate and prevent crime, which is happening in
Australia; for example, smuggling of drugs, child exploitation, robbery, cybercrime, terrorism
activities, human trafficking, etc. Apart from this, they also help local people in protecting them
by giving them security. The industry is working in many areas such as investigating terrorism,
serious fraud against commonwealth, money laundering, high tech crime etc (Hess, Orthmann
and Cho, 2016).
There are so many roles and responsibility which an Australian Federal Police has to
perform such as the main function to implement Australian criminal law, which contributes to
fight against complex, transnational, serious and organised crime impacting Australia's national
security.

Other responsibilities include:
 Protecting Australians and their interests from terrorism and violent extremism.
 Representing Australian police and law enforcement on an international level.
 Developing unique capabilities and exploiting advanced technology to support Australia's
national interests.
 They also help in maintaining international peace with other countries.
Working in Australian Federal Police can be a great option to enhance and grow career
option).
2. Ideal Job Option
I want to become crime investigation officer in Federal Australian police department.
Crime officer plays significant role in this industry. They are responsible for searching facts and
finding the criminals. To get this job it is essential to have high school diploma and bachelor
degree any stream (Santos, 2016). Furthermore, individual must have interpersonal skill,
problem solving skills so that person can perform comfortably in this field. The approx salary of
crime investigation officer is approximately $ 37960- 56320. Crime investigation officer has to
ask related questions with the criminals. Individual is responsible to examine evidence and find
out real facts. Crime investigation officer has to follow laws and they need to work for
protecting rights of suspects.
There are various kinds of job profile, which can be chosen by an individual. This report
talks about post of Police Officers (National and ACT Policing). In this job, candidate must work
with AFP in investigating transnational crime and investigating crimes against ACT community
and patrolling its city and suburban streets, providing high visibility protection to their citizens.
They must grow and maintain a diverse workforce and should focus in creating a workforce that
reflects the diversity of communities they represent. Working as an Australian Police, it will be
their responsibility to give their services for the protection of their nation, which is their main
motive that must be achieved effectively (Cathy and et.al, 2018)
ACT Policing Job Profile: It is known as Australian Capital Territory Policing in which their
main job is to provide their services when there is a crime committed in the ACT; they are the
first force team to take action. There are various posts in this profile such as constable, senior
constable, sergeant, superintendent, commander and Australian commissioner based on skills
and qualifications of all candidates respectively (Hess, Orthmann and Cho, 2016).

A person has to behave so rood in this job because they have to regularly deal with
criminals. They cannot give liberty to these criminals. They are responsible to minimise number
of cases of crimes. Investigation officer has to observe the evidences and situations and
accordingly have to take immediate action so that case can be closed soon by arresting the wrong
person (Criminal Investigators and Special Agent Career, 2018).
3. Skills and Knowledge required for Job
Crime investigation officer needs to have various skills so that individual can perform their
work effectively. Discipline related skills are associated with this job are described as below:
 Interpersonal skill: Individual needs to be able to communicate with others properly.
They have to take support of mediators or agents in order to reach to the criminals. Their
interpersonal skill supports them in investigating case properly (Criminal Investigators
and Special Agent Career, 2018).
 Problem solving skills: Many sudden complex situations arise in front of these people
thus, it is very important that they have good problem solving skill.
 Observation skill: Observations of crime investigator officer needs to be good so that
individual can evaluate situating well.
In order to work effectively in this risky job crime investigator officer must have
good detective skill. They have to behave like detective and try to find small evidence
that can help in solving this case. Individual must have elite analytical, poise skill, critical
thinking, persuasion, monitoring skills (Carthy and et.al, 2018).
Apart from this, crime investigator office should have good knowledge
about computer, electronics. They need to have good experience of handling
telecommunication, human resources. Furthermore, they need have to knowledge about
geographical locations communication and media tools. All these things help the person
in performing their duties well (Dioso-Villa and et.al, 2016). It is very important for any
job profile to have an effective and strong command on skills and knowledge related to a
particular post. These can help them a lot improving their performance in an organization
and can ensure their overall growth in their career. Key skills and knowledge required for
the post of police officer includes National and ACT policing that consists of following
factors:

 They should have proper knowledge of their job background in order to deliver the best
services to the nation.
 They should maintain the public order and safety properly.
 Investigating offences committed in different areas, which has been allotted to them
 They also have to do patrolling of the assigned areas to minimize the chance of any crime
activity.
Apart from this, it is very important for them to work in discipline and proper manner as
they work for the nation. They must maintain the dignity of their post. There are various skills,
which can be very useful for this job profile, for example, they should have an ability to plan,
implement and evaluate activities related to their work (How to become a Police Officer -
Australian Federal Police, 2017.). Proper information of Australian laws and regulations are also
very important to work properly. Knowledge of AFP regulations is also very crucial for an
individual to put their best work in his/her service. They should be flexible with working time.
Appointment in Australian Federal Police is based on merit and recruits have an
opportunity to seek employment in all states and territories of Australia. Overseas postings are
also available for the selected candidates. In addition to performing a variety of duties, recruits
have an opportunity to gain experience in specialised policing roles, which can be a great
advantage for them. It will also provide them a chance to collaborate with national and
international law enforcement agencies (Howes and Goodman-Delahunty, 2015).
4. Education and Training for Job
Individual who is applying for crime investigator officer must have high school diploma
from recognised university. Apart from this individual must have degree of forensic science,
chemistry general studies with coursework in forensics (Hess, Orthmann and Cho, 2016).
Personal requirement for the post of police officer in AFP requires a skilled and trained person
who can give the best services in their job. For this post, candidates must possess a Senior
Secondary Certificate of Education or they must have completed Year 10 plus, a trade certificate
which is required for the post of police officer in Australia Federal Police (Horswell, 2016).
Additional qualification for police officer can include specific course, which is related to this job.
Selected candidate can attain their training from AFP College in Barton for the post of ACT
Policing

There are many training institutes those which train candidates for becoming as crime
investigator officer. Federal agencies, FBI etc. give training to officer so that individual can raise
their skills and can perform well in order to minimize crime. Newly promoted officer those who
have just passed their physical and written test get training from concern department. In this they
have to learn about various physical art forms and detecting process. They get training about
laws and self defense that can help them in performing well in their job (Carthy and et.al, 2018).
The training program of AFP includes implementation and reviewing the goals, strategies
and measures designed to include, recruit and retain members from diverse backgrounds. This
will help then in recruiting the best suitable candidates for the post. Selected candidates who will
work as police officers for the Australian Federal Police are also responsible for policing federal
law in all states and territories and for community policing in the Australian Capital Territory
and Australia's external territories is also performed by them for which they will be given a
special training from the experts to make sure that they are capable enough to serve their job
perfectly (Hess, Orthmann and Cho, 2016)
5. Job Prospects
Crime investigation officer gets salary between $ 37960- 56320. Individual gets 5%
growth every year in his salary. They have to work for lengthy hours. Their duty timings are not
fixed, according to the situation it gets fluctuate. If officer is performing well then individual has
chance to get promotion and become the head in crime branch (Criminal Investigators and
Special Agent Career, 2018). Choosing Australian Federal Police as a career option is a great
choice as it will give a good salary package and is also a respectful job. The average salary for
the post of Police Officer in Australian Federal Police is AU$69,442 per year. But they have to
manage their work as working hours for this post is 24x7. The department has enforced a
maximum working time of 40 hours per week. They also have the provision of at least one day
off in a week. Working as a police officer, there is a huge scope of career development such as it
can help them in improving their overall personality and will give them variety of options to
choose from this industry such as ABF (Australian Border Force).
The future of this industry is bright as it is a respectful job, which gives a good earning to
live their life in good conditions. This will also help in developing sense of responsibility in them
and making them strong. Australian Federation Police will also help their selected candidates to
provide them facilities like they will provide them rooms and food facility during training time

(How to Become a Criminal Investigator, 2018). Employment opportunities for the crime
investigation officer are too high, increasing crime rate enhancing demand of this post. Now
government is hiring more people those who can work under police department and can
contribute well in minimizing crime rate from the nation.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
From the above report, it can be concluded that having a fine knowledge about career
planning can help an individual to set his/her future. It plays a very important part as it will help
them in improving their personality. This report discussed about career options in Australian
police. It also explained about its industry and what different jobs are available in this sector.
Apart from this topic, it has suggested skills, knowledge, education and training, which is
required for the fulfilment of a particular job.
It can be recommended that for the post of police officer in Australian Federal Police can
be very effective for the candidate as it will help then to improve their overall personality. It will
also help them in qualifying exams for this post). Choosing this police industry will give them a
huge chance to improve their skills as a police officer.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Carthy, L. and et.al., 2018, June. Committing the Perfect Crime: A Teaching Perspective. In
ECCWS 2018 17th European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (p. 87).
Academic Conferences and publishing limited.
Dioso-Villa, R. and et.al., 2016. Investigation to exoneration: A systemic review of wrongful
conviction in Australia. Current Issues Crim. Just. 28. pp.157.
Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H. and Cho, H. L., 2016. Criminal investigation. Cengage learning.
Horswell, J., 2016. Crime scene investigation and third party quality systems accreditation:
Australia’s experience. In The Practice Of Crime Scene Investigation (pp. 94-108). CRC
Press.
Howes, L. M. and Goodman-Delahunty, J., 2015. Career decisions by Australian police officers: a
cross-section of perspectives on entering, staying in and leaving policing careers. Police
Practice and Research. 16(6). pp.453-468.
Santos, R.B., 2016. Crime analysis with crime mapping. Sage publications.
Online
Criminal Investigators and Special Agent Career. 2018. [Online]. Available through <
https://www.mymajors.com/career/criminal-investigators-and-special-agents/skills/ >
How to Become a Criminal Investigator. 2018. [Online]. Available through <
http://legalcareerpath.com/criminal-investigator/>
How to become a Police Officer - Australian Federal Police. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/careers-guide/browse/police-officer-
australian-federal-police>
One organisation - a million possibilities. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.afp.gov.au/careers.