Police Officers – Specialist Areas
There are many different ways you can Achieve More through your career. Following graduation you’ll be able to identify and study in an area where you’d like to develop. You can choose from over 40 professional specialities and here are some of the options available to you:
Preventing and detecting crime, you'll provide the first line service to the community and respond to calls for assistance from the public. As a Transit officer, you’ll focus on the metropolitan transit system.
Attending crime scenes and conducting investigations into reported crime, you’ll detect and report or arrest offenders and present evidence to court. With a sound knowledge of criminal law and procedures, CIB Investigators are able to communicate with people at all levels.
As a Traffic Officer you’ll detect and prevent traffic breaches, as well as responding to and assisting with general policing. Undertaking special traffic operations, speed management, driver testing (alcohol and drug), escorts and event management, you may work solo, including on motorcycles, or in two person patrols.
By presenting evidence to courts of summary jurisdiction/youth courts, at preliminary hearings or other proceedings, you’ll enable courts to administer justice. This specialist role includes ensuring there is sufficient evidence to present a case before a court and requires a current knowledge of legislation, case law and justice administration procedures.
Intelligence Officers support policing through gathering, collating, evaluating and disseminating information. This role involves a lot of local research of problem locations, problem trends, and reported incidents, and contributes to the preparation and evaluation of proposals for targeting offenders or problem areas.
Through the maintenance of local crime reduction and community safety strategies, our Crime Prevention Officers assist in partnership development of community-based crime reduction and education programs.
If you’re part of the STAR team, your specialist duties will include apprehending armed offenders, search and rescue, close personal protection of VIPs and witnesses, public order, general policing and saturation policing operations. It’s a physically demanding role that demands above-average performance in all major skills due to the elements of risk and danger involved.
Preserving the peace and good order, as a Mounted Officer you’ll prevent and detect crime and respond to calls for assistance by undertaking mounted patrols, escorts, and displays. You’ll also take responsibility for educating and training horses, so you will need to demonstrate the right physical and mental aptitude and riding ability.
Providing support to other police and the community, you can be involved in specialist dog teams responsible for explosives detection, firearms and drug detecting. We also have general dog teams, trained for tracking, and searching for persons and property.
If you train as a qualified SAPOL diver and develop your understanding of marine law, you can be part of the team that undertakes marine search and rescue, water policing activities and underwater search and recovery.
Our photographers provide specialist evidence through photographic, digital imaging and video work. This includes recording crime scenes, examining CCTV footage, compiling computer FACE images from witness and victim statements, measuring crime scenes and producing scale plans.
Classifying, searching and identifying fingerprints and images from exhibits and crime scenes, you’ll work with investigation teams from a wide cross-section of police groups. In addition to using forensic photography you’ll prepare statements and exhibits and attend court to present your specialist evidence.
Specialist investigators undertake investigations of major crimes such as murders, drug investigations, organised crime, and frauds, and investigations of matters such as child exploitation, sexual offences and paedophile activity.
This is a chance to pass on all you’ve learned as you train, assess, manage and coordinate recruits undertaking the Constable Development Program. Responsible for developing and delivering training programs, you’ll also train Police Officers undertaking internal promotional and vocational courses, or operational safety, e.g. firearms training.
Once you’ve developed your skills and a sound knowledge of criminal law and coronial law you’ll be able to provide State-wide coverage for major crashes. Attending crash scenes and conducting investigations, you’ll gather evidence to be provided to the prosecuting authority and / or the State Coroner.
Receiving, assessing and prioritising calls from the public and police, you’ll coordinate dispatches and deal with enquiries from patrols to maintain an effective police service.