Working at PCIC

The Scientific Criminal Investigation Police is a growing institution that seeks to recruit and develop professionals committed to the values of the rule of law, integrity, and public service. Working at PCIC means joining an elite body of Timorese criminal investigation, with its own professional identity, specialised training, and a mission of high social relevance.

PCIC organises its personnel into distinct career paths that reflect the scientific and technical nature of its mission. The criminal-investigation career, which forms the core of the institution, requires an undergraduate degree and a rigorous selection and training process. The specialists of the Scientific Police Laboratory form an equally demanding technical career, with training in ballistics, document examination, and toxicology. The support staff ensure the administrative, logistical, and legal functioning of the institution.

PCIC has a total of 119 staff distributed across its organic units, headquartered in Díli. The institution's strategic objective is to grow and decentralise its presence to the municipalities of Suai and Baucau and to the Special Administrative Region of Oécussi Ambeno, which will require an expansion of the workforce in the coming years.

Of the total staff, 73% are men and 27% are women. PCIC recognises the importance of gender equality in the composition of its workforce and commits to actively promoting the participation of women, particularly in criminal-investigation careers and in management and leadership roles.

Training is a central pillar of PCIC's identity. The institution's first investigators were trained at the Judicial Police Academy in Portugal, completing 850 hours of theoretical and practical instruction. This investment in qualification remains a priority, with the goal of building, by 2024, a pool of national trainers capable of delivering initial training courses in Timor-Leste.

PCIC also promotes ongoing training in Portuguese - the priority language for the exercise of legal and procedural functions - the development of technical skills in forensic and digital fields, and the participation of its professionals in international congresses and forums on criminal investigation and forensic sciences.

Entry to the criminal-investigation career is by external public competition, with demanding selection criteria including written knowledge examinations, medical tests, physical tests, psychometric tests, and a psychological interview. Candidates must be Timorese citizens aged 21 to 30, with an appropriate undergraduate qualification. Passing the training course and the professional internship are required for permanent appointment.

Vacancies are advertised in the Jornal da República and on PCIC's official communication channels. The institution encourages applications from women and from graduates in Law, Forensic Sciences, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, and related fields.