Police Foundations Gets Your Foot In The Door
“What we have is a program called Police Foundations and it’s geared
towards people who are interested in getting in the police and
police-related fields and who want to get a good solid grounding in
those fields,” says Philip Sampo, a professor at Centennial College’s
Police Foundations undertaking. “We now have a course called Police Prep
that we’ve integrated into our program, which assists you in actually
getting through all of the testing that you’ll be required to do. Being
hands-on and actually experiencing what it is that’s out there is a huge
part of this program. We want them to know what it’s like to give
evidence in a simulated courtroom and we actually built a simulated
courtroom here at Centennial for them to do that. We want them to know
what it means if you’re at a crime scene and you’re investigating, what
it is that’s truly important to be preserving and looking for. When
you’re doing something like community-based policing, we want them to
know how to dissect a problem. All of these things are some of the main
focuses we try to get across to our students. I really enjoy the uniform
[that students wear]. It’s the integration of reality into our
program.”
Philip does a fantastic job of describing Centennial College’s Police Foundations
program, which is facilitated out of Progress Campus and takes two
years to complete. Let’s take a closer look at some of the specifics.
Applicants must possess at minimum an Ontario Secondary Diploma or
equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. In addition, they must have
compulsory English 12C or U credits or skills assessment or equivalent.
English proficiency will also be considered and a program information
session may be required. Applicants should also know that some program
experiences might require a criminal reference check.
There is
also a host of essential necessities that are typical in policing.
Students should have no criminal record, must possess a valid driver’s
license with a clean driving record and must have valid first aid and/or
CPR certification. In addition, there are physical requirements such
as: vision checks, standard normal hearing, physical fitness and
readiness for the Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police (PREP) test.
Lastly, applicants for police services careers in Ontario must be able
to pass a security clearance, background investigation and credit and
reference checks.
Once accepted, students participate in intense
training equivalent to that of a paramilitary environment, which helps
them to develop discipline and deportment. Through courses that use
real-life experiences and case studies Police Foundations teaches
students to: initiate, promote and facilitate partnerships to meet
community policing and security needs; apply fundamental concepts of
political science, law and legislative policy making and public
administration to the provision of police services; assess crisis
intervention strategies; and develop strategies to assist crime victims;
document, prepare and assist in the presentation of court cases in
compliance with criminal and provincial law, rules of evidence and the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms; assess the use of police powers; and
assess information-gathering skills used in basic investigative
techniques
Graduates of Police Foundations can apply for
positions as police officers, customs officers, security officers and
more. Graduates are well prepared to apply for positions with the
Provincial Police Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Armed Forces
and more.
