u/Happysmiles0

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a bit of advice from anyone with experience of HMRC Criminal Investigation, or anyone with knowledge of the role. I appreciate any current HMRC Criminal Investigators are probably unlikely to comment, but I’d be really grateful for any insight from those with experience or knowledge of the role.

I’ve previously seen a vacancy for an EO Criminal Investigator within HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, and it really interested me. It sounds like an exciting career with a great mix of financial investigation and operational work.

I come from a financial crime/fraud background, so the investigative side of the role—analysing evidence, applying legislation and building cases—is something I feel my experience would transfer well to. The part that made me hesitate, and ultimately stopped me applying this time, was the operational side.

From the advert, the role includes executing search warrants, searching premises, interviewing suspects under caution and making arrests.

I’m not afraid of dealing with confrontation when it’s part of the job, but I’m also not your stereotypical “enforcement” type. I’m certainly not built like a rugby player or ex-military! In my head, I imagine a lot of Criminal Investigators come from policing or other law enforcement backgrounds, so I’m probably overthinking whether I’d fit in.

My questions are:

• How competitive are these roles? Do they tend to attract a lot of applicants and people with previous law enforcement experience?
• How common are arrests in this role? Is it something you do regularly, or only occasionally? Are suspects generally compliant, or can situations become quite confrontational?
• During operational activity, are you usually working as part of a team, or are investigators expected to carry out arrests independently?
• One thing I’ve probably overthought is this! If a suspect is much bigger or more physically imposing than you, how is that managed in reality? Are arrests generally team operations, or are investigators expected to deal with situations independently?
• Is PPST as daunting as it sounds? I appreciate it’s a pass/fail course, but is it designed to teach people from scratch, or are there high expectations before you even start?
• How did people find the training? Is there plenty of support for new investigators, or are the expectations particularly high from day one?

I suppose my biggest concern is leaving a secure job for a role where I might struggle with the operational aspects, despite feeling very confident about the investigative side.

Finally, what’s the culture like within FIS? Is there a good mix of people from different professional backgrounds, or are most investigators ex-police or ex-forces? Do people coming from financial crime, compliance or other non-law enforcement backgrounds generally settle in well? I also wonder whether being younger and not from a traditional enforcement background makes you stand out, or whether that’s more common than I imagine.

I’d really appreciate any honest advice or experiences, as I think hearing from people who know the role would really help me understand what it’s actually like day to day.

Thanks in advance!