Police Officers – Your Probationary Period
Your 15-month probationary period is designed to build on the skills you develop at the Police Academy and help you gain valuable experience.
After a 6-day Traffic Induction program, you’ll commence duties with your allocated patrol team and for the first six months you'll work with a field tutor, mainly undertaking general duties on front-line patrols in the metropolitan area. During this time you could respond to jobs such as assaults, disturbances, armed hold ups, domestic violence, traffic accidents, deaths and burglaries. You'll also spend a short period in a major police station with cell facilities, take some leave owing to you and undertake advanced driver training.
After successful completion of your Personal Learning Portfolio - a guided learning workbook – you’ll be transferred to one of our Local Service Areas within the State or to the Transit Services Branch. Your training will continue, as will collection of evidence to support your ongoing workplace competence.
For the next nine months you'll get involved in a variety of operational duties on patrol, in the station and in cells. Then six months into the final phase of probation you'll return to the Academy for final testing, before being considered for permanent appointment. At this point, as a Constable of the South Australia Police, you’ll receive a Diploma of Public Safety (Policing). This Diploma is a nationally accredited award, which is recognised by all Australian Police Services.
The table below outlines the timing of the probationary phases of the Constable Development Program.
| Phase | Duration | Location | Training | |||
| Traffic Induction Module (TIM) | 6 shifts (after graduation) | Working in the metropolitan LSA Operations Section | Traffic patrol duties including use and knowledge of laser speed detection, random breath testing, traffic control duties and detecting breaches of the Road Traffic Act, including Australian Road Rules. | |||
| Phase 6 | 6 months | Working under supervision of a Traffic Patrol Field Tutor in a metropolitan LSA | General duties patrol work with a short stint in the station and cells Working under the direct supervision of a trained and accredited field tutor |
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| Phase 7 | 9 months | Working in any LSA (country or metropolitan) or Transit Services Branch Police Academy |
In the station or on patrol undertaking duties at the direction of the LSA commander Probationary Constable Assessment Workshop |