GFIE- 416 - HMRC - Criminal Investigator Officer - Portsmouth

This role at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is available to people who served in the Armed Forces, OR be in your resettlement period and due to leave the Armed Forces within a reasonable time frame OR Military Spouse/Partner: Your current partner must still be serving OR was discharged within the last 12 months.

We want you to join us, learn new skills and bring your experience to our organisation. We believe that everyone has the potential to make a difference, and we want to ensure that all our staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to do so. As part of your employment, you will have access to a range of learning and development, and a buddy who can help you to understand the Civil Service and enable you to make the most of the opportunities it offers.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is one of the UK’s largest organisations, with around 60,000 employees, collecting over £605 billion in tax revenue. We are an effective, efficient and impartial tax and payments authority with a vital purpose: to collect the money that pays for the UK’s public services and help families and individuals with targeted financial support.

About Fraud Investigation Service:

HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for the department’s civil and criminal investigations.

FIS provides HMRC with an effective investigation arm to enforce the Department’s compliance policies. This enables the Department to deliver against the strategic responsibilities across all the taxes and duties it administers. This includes complex offshore evasion, international smuggling of illicit excise goods, exports of controlled weapons and technology, labour market abuses, VAT and Self-Assessment repayment frauds and a host of other fraud attacks targeted at the tax system.

Job Description

In this role you will undertake a variety of daily activities. You may be searching premises one day and conducting suspect interviews the next. We’ll provide world-class training as you develop specialised expertise in combatting tax fraud and protecting the public purse.

At its core, this job is about outsmarting criminal groups threatening the UK. You’ll need sharp judgement, resilience under confrontation, and integrity as you exercise far-reaching investigative powers.

In addition to operational work, this role involves vital desk-based duties where attention to detail is key. You will rigorously compile evidence and prepare thorough briefings to build an airtight case that will stand up to scrutiny in court. Investigators must be comfortable presenting their findings and defending their investigative decisions under examination in court. You will be asked to undertake any aspect of criminal investigation work for which HMRC has responsibility. You will be expected to undertake:

Responsibilities

1. Search of Premises: Undertake operational activities such as search of premises, seizure of goods and detention of goods. Apply laws, always adhering to legislation and policy.
2. Undertake arrests: Conduct search of person and interview under caution, diffusing potentially confrontational situations.
3. Utilise HMRC Powers: Use powers granted to HMRC to investigate and gather evidence. Develop and maintain knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations.
4. Make decisions: Use your own judgement to assess evidence. Take ownership and be accountable for planning, decisions and activities regarding investigations. Utilise forensic evidence and understand how and when to use forensic services. Interact and collaborate with a wide range of internal and external people including other parts of HMRC, the Police, Border Force, National Crime Agency, Solicitors, Crown Prosecutors and colleagues from Other Government Departments.
5. Complete witness statements: Take witness statements from a variety of people, both internal and external.
6. Attend court: Attend court to give evidence in criminal prosecutions and/or financial recovery hearings. Undertake the role of Disclosure Officer/Reviewing Officer in relation to reviewing and revealing material, created or obtained in the course of an investigation to the prosecutor in line with legislation.
7. Desk based duties: Analysis of evidence, preparation of written material and official documents, including Search Warrants and Production Order applications, case files and detailed reports. Identify, classify and handle information connected to an investigation and ensure legal obligations are discharged effectively. Conduct briefing and de-briefing activities to identify improvements and best practice, sharing that knowledge appropriately.

Working Arrangements

The nature of criminal investigation work and your role duties mean you must be willing and able to:

• Work your hours flexibly to meet business needs, including at nighttime, weekends and public holidays, and change your work pattern at short notice.
• If required, you must also be able to: Be “on-call” throughout the day and night for 1 week out of every 4.
• Work a specified number of additional hours.

To recognise these additional attendance requirements, the Criminal Investigator role is eligible for an annual attendance allowance called the “Flexibility Payment”.

Person Specification

• Inquisitive, open-minded and objective
• Committed and conscientious
• Organised even when completing multiple tasks
• Resilient and able to deal with challenge and/or confrontation
• Ability to carefully analyse large sets of data to spot patterns and draw conclusions
• Demonstrate balanced judgement under pressure; follow rules and guidelines
• Work respectfully with others to achieve common goals while appreciating different working styles
• Work with integrity, impartiality, professionalism and objectivity
• Take accountability for decisions made and be prepared and able to give evidence in court
• Committed to developing specialist investigation skills and building a career at HMRC
• Confident communicator with good verbal and written skills

Essential Criteria:

A full valid UK Driving Licence

Training Requirement

You will be expected to attend HMRC’s full Criminal Investigation Foundation Training programme, which is 8 weeks and a mixture of digital and face-to-face events. Throughout this training period you will be required to be available full-time.

Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST) is a crucial element of becoming a criminal investigator. This is a PASS/FAIL event. The event includes digital and face-to-face training where you will learn practical techniques to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues, as well as how to apprehend and physically restrain suspects and apply handcuffs. The event is mainly physical and includes scenario-based exercises where you will require an appropriate level of fitness and mobility such as being able to carry equipment up and down stairs and get up and down from the floor unaided. All officers undertaking this training must obtain a valid occupational health certificate (acquired from HMRC’s healthcare provider) stating they are fit to undertake regular physical training. Once this training is complete, you will have a one-day refresher training event at least every six months after this to ensure you are able to carry out operational duties.

Integrity Declarations

All applicants will be required to declare any past convictions, criminal findings, or police cautions, regardless of whether they are ‘spent’. You must also declare any disciplinary proceedings relating to previous employments. The disclosure of this information will not automatically bar you from employment with FIS, but we need to be aware of any event or issue which could impinge on your credibility if questioned in court.

FIS may conduct background checks and any offer will be withdrawn if you fail to disclose any relevant information that causes conflict with you being able to complete the duties of the role. Internal candidates should also be aware that if they fail to disclose relevant information they could be subject to disciplinary proceedings under HMRC’s Upholding Our Standards of Conduct policy.

Additional Security Information

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post. Due to the nature of this role, we would discourage you from sharing your intention to apply via social media or similar channels.

Flexibility Payment in Fraud Investigation Service

Flexibility Payment

The role for which you have applied is eligible for the Flexibility Payment.

The Flexibility Payment is paid to staff, in eligible roles in the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) and Risk and Intelligence Service (RIS), in return for the level of attendance, contactability and flexibility required by those roles.

How to Apply:

To apply we will need:

• A completed Expression of Interest form - Please request from GFIE@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
• A copy of your CV

Closing date for applications is 4th April 2025. Informal Interviews with candidates are expected to take place in April and it is hoped that successful candidates start in August following successful security checks.