No. Being a former police officer does not automatically give you RPL for the CPP20218 Certificate II in Security Operations. Recognition of Prior Learning is still an assessment process and the RTO must establish that you currently meet the knowledge and practical requirements of the individual units of competency. That said, policing experience can provide very strong evidence for RPL.

Former police officers (like me) may already have extensive experience in areas such as legislation, communication, conflict management, risk assessment, incident response, interviewing, statement and report writing, crime-scene preservation and dealing with difficult or aggressive people. Previous police training, service records, qualifications and other evidence can therefore be assessed and mapped against the current security competencies. However, there can also be a difference between policing and private security. Some CPP20218 units require very specific security-industry skills and direct practical demonstration in a simulated security workplace.

BARS Training Australia will therefore review a former police officer's previous training and experience individually rather than simply saying, “You were a police officer, so here's your Certificate II.” RPL should recognise what you genuinely already know and can do, while identifying any gaps that still need to be assessed or trained. From our perspective, policing experience is enormously