Organisation:
Job Title: Specialist – Investigations and Statutory Compliance
Word Limit: 300 words per criteria
Location: Gympie
Briefly outline your level of experience in a law enforcement or statutory compliance field
Holding a previous role as a Senior City Standards Investigations Officer with Brisbane City Council for a period of seven years, I was responsible for undertaking complex investigations under a range of statutory instruments. Some of the Queensland legislation I applied and enforced in carrying out my duties included
- Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011
- Environmental Protection Act 1994
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011
- Anti Discrimination Act 1991
- City of Brisbane Act 2010
- Criminal Code Act 1899
- Public Health Act 2005
- Evidence Act 1977
- Building Act 1975
My role as a Senior Investigator required me to conduct and conclude my investigations within the relevant legislation and specific elements of the associated acts. This included identifying the relevant sections of the act that support a breach, and the possible actions to be recommended, such as fines or prosecution.
The matters that I investigated at Brisbane City Council arose either as a result of a complaint from the public or by direct request of the Lord Mayor of Brisbane. Undertaking a wide range of complex investigations, I frequently maintained an active caseload of approximately eight open files at various stages of the investigative process. My role included management of the investigation from the initial stages of receiving a complaint, then to preliminary information gathering, interviews with relevant parties, the taking of affidavits and collection of evidence.
At the conclusion of the investigative phase I would prepare a brief of evidence, outlining the relevant legislation, the history of the matter, the investigations undertaken, and the evidence gathered. This brief of evidence would include my recommendations for action, including prosecution. Initially received by my Principal Investigator, these briefs would then be submitted to the Brisbane City Council legal team.
Do you have a formal qualification in law enforcement, statutory compliance or related discipline?
My formal qualifications include
- An Advanced Diploma of Criminal Justice and Criminology, completed in 2014
- A Diploma in Government Investigation, completed in 2011, and
- A Certificate IV in Government Investigation, completed in 2010
I have also undertaken a Queensland Police certificate course in the interviewing of children.
What do you feel are the key elements of effective investigation techniques, and what is your experience in gathering evidence for prosecution of offenders and preparing briefs of evidence for the courts?
My first step in conducting any investigation is to understand the legislation under which the matter falls, and the powers provided to me as an investigator under that or any other relevant and applicable legislation. In conducting investigations and gathering evidence, it is a priority to ensure that material gathered is admissible as evidence in court. A key part of this is ensuring that procedural steps, such as providing cautions where required prior to interview.
Effective interviewing skills are essential to any successful investigation. Attendance at training delivered by the Queensland Police Service introduced me to the P.E.A.C.E model of interviewing, which I now adopt in my interview technique, especially when involving complainants, suspects, and victims of crime. The P.E.A.C.E model provides a sound and tested structure for carrying out investigative interviews, and is based on the following core elements
- Preparation and Planning
- Engage and Explain
- Account
- Closure
- Evaluation
Using this model, I begin with broad questions and focus on elements of the reply to narrow down my interview to very specific questions regarding points of interest. This allows me to successfully extract relevant information from interviewees, including those who are attempting to be evasive or who are poor communicators.
During my seven years at Brisbane City Council as Senior City Standards Investigations Officer, my daily activities largely comprised of gathering evidence in investigations in order to determine whether prosecution of offenders was required. Having conducted my investigation and gathered all of the relevant evidence I would provide a comprehensive brief of evidence for use by the Council legal team in court prosecutions. I was also frequently required to appear in court as a part of the prosecution process. My investigations and preparation of evidence briefs at Brisbane City Council led to a large number of successful prosecutions.
Describe a time when you have been required to lead and mentor a team to build productive working relationships. What was your methodology to achieve results?
As an effective communicator who values team relationships, my key priority in leading team members is to ensure that they feel supported and able to seek guidance and information where required. As Senior City Standards Investigations Officer with Brisbane City Council, I was frequently paired with new investigative staff to provide them with training, mentoring and guidance. In these situations I would follow a process of ensuring that they were comfortable with the procedural elements of the role before proceeding to exposing them to field situations.
Initially upon commencement of a new employee, I would spend time with them going through the organisations’ systems, procedures and technology such as the informational database. As a supportive leader, I encouraged ongoing questions to ensure that the new team member had a full understanding of all relevant operations. Once they were comfortable with their understanding of the procedural elements of the role, I would then take the team member out in to the field to observe, assist and practice conducting interviews.
The investigative role was isolated in nature, with team members spending a large part of their day ‘on the road’ independently conducting investigation activities. In this environment, it was important to me during the induction period to provide employees with a sense of a support network that they could turn to when questions arose. Through taking the time to build rapport with new team members early in their employment, I provided them with a contact point that they could look to for support and guidance.
Explain how you keep in touch with contemporary procurement procedures, including the ability to draft, implement and manage contracts
In my career to date, the management of procurement contracts and processes has not been a part of my duties. However I am confident that my capacity to quickly learn new processes and methods would see me rapidly acquire competence in this area. My strong experience in following strict procedural processes in the investigative field will serve me in good stead in conducting procurement activities in accordance with required Council procedures.
A previous responsibility in managing the stock levels of investigative equipment for the Specialist Investigations Unit supplies store has provided me with some exposure to the process of obtaining supplies required in an organisational context. My experience in drafting Standard Operating Procedures for Brisbane City Council investigations required the same skills in clarity of expression, thoroughness and accuracy that would be required in the drafting of contracts. In addition, the influencing and liaison skills that I have developed throughout my investigative career provide a good grounding for the negotiation required in the management of contracts. Experienced in representing Council interests to external parties, I possess the professionalism and confidence required to negotiate and communicate regarding the provision of goods and services.
Outline an example of when you have implemented and fostered a continuous improvement initiative in your workplace
During my tenure at Brisbane City Council, I developed and implemented several Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents. This was undertaken in response to my observation of errors that had been made, or could potentially be made, in the investigative process as a result of a lack of formal procedures. In order to provide formal guidance to investigators, I sought and received permission from my manager to develop SOPs for certain operational areas. In particular, I worked on procedures for duties carried out in relation to voice recordings, the Amenity Local Law Act, and Animal Local Law.
The SOP documents that I developed provided officers with clear guidance on the conduct of their duties. In the case of voice recordings for example, instructions were provided on when during the interview process voice recorders should be switched on or off. For investigation of animal complaints, relating to barking or attacking dogs, the SOP covered areas such as the relevant legislative sections, the equipment required for an investigation, what to look for when attending a property, and key questions to be asked in interviews.
The provision of these guidance documents had the effect of promoting consistency and quality in the conduct of investigator’s activities. In addition, they contributed to successful prosecution of matters by ensuring that all required procedural steps were followed by investigators in collecting evidence and preparing briefs.
The efforts I made to provide a structured and welcoming organisational induction for new team members was also an act of workplace improvement. Upon my own commencement as an investigator in 2007, a poor induction had left me feeling unsupported and without all of the information required to perform my job well, upon being given the opportunity to provide inductions for new employees I utilised a far more structured and supportive approach.
Have you ever been involved with implementing and fostering a customer service culture to a workplace? If so, how did you go about implementing this change, and what was the outcome?
As a Senior Investigations Officer, the majority of my time was spent interacting with the public in one form or another. Throughout all of my dealings with the customers of Brisbane City Council, my primary concern was to treat members of the public with the same respect that I would like to be afforded. In many cases I was required to enter other people’s property in order to undertake inspections, gather evidence and conduct interviews. These situations in particular required the application of tact and sensitivity in my manner.
Given that my investigative work was often a precursor to prosecution for breach of a statutory obligation, in many cases the customers with whom I was dealing were unhappy or even aggressive. My approach at these times was to allow the customer to speak while listening attentively, and communicating to them that while I understood their point of view, I was nonetheless required to perform my investigation. Through dealing appropriately with these situations, I was always able to diffuse confrontational situations with difficult customers. When I received correspondence from a member of the public, I always showed respect by providing a prompt response. It was these high standards of customer service that I demonstrated to new team members when I provided them with an organisational induction and training.
Over the course of my career I have undertaken formal training to develop my skills in customer service and dealing with the public. While the organisations I have worked for in the past have not necessitated that I implement any changes in the customer service approach of the business, I am confident in my ability to lead by example and impart training in drive a culture of strong customer focus where this is required.
Council values respect in our workplace. From your understanding of the requirements of this role, how would you demonstrate respect in your daily interactions?
Taking a cooperative and collaborative approach in my work, I have always achieved good results through demonstrating respect to internal and external stakeholders. In the context of this role, I would demonstrate respect for the role of the relevant Coordinator in undertaking contract management by ensuring that I provided timely information and completion of work required of me, to assist the Coordinator in performing their functions.
In conducting investigations and representing Council to internal and external stakeholders, including legal bodies, my respect would be demonstrated through performing my work to a high standard and provision of thorough, accurate and timely briefs of evidence to allow successful prosecution where required. When dealing with customers of the council, including those who I was interviewing for investigation purposes, I would demonstrate the same courtesy, sensitivity and respect with which I treated members of the public in the similar role that I previously held with Brisbane City Council. This includes respecting the diversity of the community with which I am dealing and behaving in a culturally appropriate way when required to enter the property of customer. When interacting with or leading team members, my respect would be demonstrated through showing appreciation and recognition for the contributions of others and remaining courteous in all of my dealings.
Can you describe an example of when accountability was important in a previous role? How did you demonstrate this value?
In my role as Senior Investigations Officer with Brisbane City Council, my work was largely governed by deadlines by which I was required to provide responses and complete investigations. Having had a matter referred to me, I was accountable for ensuring that the matter was dealt with in the proper manner within the appropriate deadline. Some of the response deadlines for which I was responsible included a 24-hour timeframe to respond to Lord Mayoral investigation requests, and 14 days to respond to customer complaints.
During my time with the Council, there were times when maintaining this accountability for completing work within required timeframes was particularly challenging. During one period for example, I was undertaking further study for a Diploma to further my workplace skills while also maintaining a high investigation workload. Lord Mayoral requests for investigations were particularly frequent at this time, and customer complaints were being received in high numbers. In order to complete all of my duties within the required deadlines, during this period I regularly worked late in to the night. This is an example of the level of commitment that I demonstrate to ensuring that I deliver the required outcomes in my work.
When drafting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Brisbane City Council, I included timeframes by which actions were to be taken, including completion of investigations within a two-month period where circumstances permitted. Through this process I assisted in ensuring that other members of the senior investigative team also demonstrated accountability for timely performance of duties.
