There’s a gripping new podcast series called Crime Interrupted. It takes listeners deep behind the scenes of some of Australia’s most involved investigations and has everything it needs to be a hit.

Oh…and it’s a recruitment campaign by Host/Havas for Australian Federal Police. The podcast is supported by a 30-second trailer for the first episode, created with the Emmy Award-winning director of the True Detective main title sequence, Patrick Clair.

Surely, it’s an “I wish I’d done that” campaign?

Host/Havas executive creative director, Jon Austin, commented, “When it came to recruiting for the AFP, we didn’t need to hyperbolise or dramatise. The most compelling reasons were obvious with every case story we heard from their officers. They were smart, hard-hitting and, at times, confronting – and they all showed exactly why we need the AFP (and the next generation of recruits) to be a step ahead.”

The six-part Crime Interrupted series was created with the AFP leading Australian podcast, Casefile. It goes behind some of the AFP’s most complex investigations, including interviews with the officers responsible for cracking the cases and insights into the techniques used to unravel the crimes. The campaign hopes to inspire the next generation of officers for the AFP, with a focus on women, people from diverse backgrounds, and First Nations people.

Marina Simoncini, manager culture & communications branch at the Australian Federal Police, added, “Just as the series explores the tactics and diverse techniques our officers use in their investigations, our podcast series created with Host/Havas takes an unexpected approach to recruitment. The six hours of content will not only intrigue and entertain, but it will show potential recruits, people who may not have previously considered a career with the AFP, what they can expect.

“In 2020/21 the AFP interrupted 411 major criminal operations, including crimes associated with terrorism, drug trafficking and child exploitation. We have more than 200 roles across the AFP, in Australia and across the globe. As we’ve showed through the podcast, we need people from all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of skills to help keep us a step ahead.”

Listen to the first episode here:

Host/Havas was appointed to work with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in 2021 to relaunch the brand and position it to recruit the next generation of officers. Crime Interrupted builds on earlier Host/Havas work for the AFP, including the launch of a new recruitment website (jobs.afp.gov.au) last year.

Credits:

Client: Australian Federal Police 
Agency: Host/Havas
Podcast Creator: Casefile
Film Production: Sedona
Producer: Kim Wildenburg
Director: Patrick Clair
Audio: Sonar
Music: Mike Migas @ Casefile