General Duties Police Officer
What the work is
Maintains public order, protects life and property, prevents anti-social behaviour, and enforces laws by patrolling public areas, responding to reports of offences, and arresting suspected offenders.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Patrols public areas to engage with the community and gather information to prevent crime and improve public safety in accordance with legislation
- Attends emergency calls, accidents and incidents, and manages the scene to preserve evidence
- Identifies unsafe driver behaviour, records vehicle speeds, conducts vehicle stops and pullovers, and tests drivers suspected of drug and alcohol use
- Assesses situations to determine if an offence has been committed and arrests suspected offenders
- Conducts initial investigations, including gathering evidence, conducting interviews and undertaking searches
- Manages people in police care or custody
- Engages with individuals and the community to identify police services options to support their needs
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a general duties police shift in a fictional suburban and country patrol area. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A lost child is found safe and reunited with their parents within the hour
- A neighbourhood dispute ends with two people shaking hands
- You help someone who had no idea where else to turn, and they thank you
Hard days
- Night shifts, weekends and public holidays when everyone else is off
- Being the calm one when everybody around you is angry or upset
- The paperwork that follows every job, long after the job itself is done
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 451331, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.