Find out about the roles and opportunities within Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit

I work on a busy, proactive team, so I am often out of the office providing enforcement assistance to other Tarian capabilities, or to partner agencies such as the National Crime Agency, HMRC, or Trading Standards. I also obtain and carry out warrants and intercept parcels containing illicit drugs destined for our communities.

When I am in the office, I could be developing intelligence on organised crime groups within the region, compiling case files for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), or looking through mobile phone downloads to gather evidential material. I am also required to provide expert evidence in court, especially in the area of drugs trafficking.

A typical day will consist of researching identifiers for a subject of interest across both police systems and open sources – such as websites, social media platforms, online forums etc. I will then present my findings in a report which will include an assessment and some recommended lines of enquiry for the investigation team.

I was drawn to research due to the key role it plays in investigations, and the fact that the discovery of a key piece of intelligence can lead to significant developments in a case, which is incredibly rewarding. Working at the ROCU means I am supporting highly specialised departments tackling serious and organised crime. The work is always interesting, and I am feel proud to be helping to protect our communities.

I am a Detective Constable in the Regional Economic Crime Unit, specialising in Fraud investigations. My days are always varied but generally I will spend time examining the financial records of suspects, identifying and attempting to contact victims of crime, speaking with financial institutions, obtaining evidence and intelligence, liaising with external agencies such as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), or working on disclosure and thinking ahead to upcoming prosecutions.

One of the most challenging aspects of my role is the sheer amount of material that can be obtained as the result of an economic crime investigation. But ultimately that material forms the crucial pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which, when completed, can result in successful convictions and recovered assets for victims.

As a Senior Intelligence Analyst, I have oversight of all the research and operational analysts working for the ROCU. I am responsible for quality checking their work, communicating with their department leads, and managing the demands upon their time.

A typical day could see me attending case meetings, conducting work on reactive case files, addressing departmental requests for work, checking in with the regional researchers and analysts, or prepping for court proceedings.

A Senior Intelligence Analyst needs to have excellent communication skills since you are required to engage with individuals of different ranks, across different departments, on a daily basis. You must be able to confidently convey crucial information, and to ensure that it has been understood. Strong attention to detail and multi-tasking abilities are also essential. It is incredibly rewarding work and Tarian is a great environment in which to further your career.

I am responsible for leading a team of highly specialised officers who investigate organised crime groups causing the highest level of harm to our region. Our primary focus is disrupting drug trafficking, but we cover multiple other areas of criminality as well.

A typical day usually involves a lot of meetings. Management meetings, team meetings, and regional meetings with both national agencies and my counterparts within the forces. In between meetings I’m usually on the phone coordinating officers and operational staff, overseeing live investigations, and making time critical decisions.

It can be stressful taking responsibility for decisions such as evaluating risk or giving an order for specialist teams to commence simultaneous raids on properties. But ultimately it is worth it when I know that we are working to safeguard the vulnerable within our communities. It is also incredibly rewarding to be part of such a dedicated team.

I start the day by sending off summaries of work to my counterparts in our constituent forces; South Wales Police, Gwent Police, and Dyfed-Powys Police. Then I manage our admin email inbox and handle queries such as room bookings, purchase requisitions, equipment booking requests, and information requests.

I make sure post has been delivered to the correct location and distribute this around the ROCU. I’ll also take minutes, ensure our stationary cupboard is fully stocked, and facilitate any visitors who need access to do work around the offices.

I also assist with operational logs and help to ensure certain pieces of work have been completed within a specific timeframe.

I really enjoy the varied nature of the role and I get to meet and work with a wide variety of people.

We get to choose which events we sign up for, so I tend to schedule in two – three events around my university studies each month. The events are really varied and can take place anywhere across southern Wales. One of my favourite experiences to date was helping out at Cardiff University fresher’s week. I travelled to the university myself but sometimes you can get a lift with the team. We all arrived fairly early so we could get our table set up with advice and guidance booklets, merchandise, and interactive activities.

Once the doors opened it became busy really quickly and we each took it in turns to run the stand. One of the highlights was knowing that a lot of the students came over to look for freebies but left having learned something new about keeping safe online. A lot of the students I spoke with didn’t realise that messages they had received on social media were actually scams, and they appreciated finding out how they could better protect themselves and their friends.

Each experience is really hands on and I’m also learning each time I assist. You can also sign up to help out with projects, and I’m looking forward to joining one of those.