RCMP vs VPD
 

I've always wondered what is the difference between the two. Who has more authority :confused:. Who get payed more and anything else =S

VPD is strictly a municple police force, whereas the RCMP is a federal police force contracted out by municipalities and provinces to police that municipality & province. In a municipal setting/context, I think both have equal amounts of authority, but overall, the entire organization of the RCMP has more responsabilities. As for pay, some might say that they're comparable overall. I think you can find the pay scales on their respective websites.

if you want a job dealing with crack heads all day, in a city you'll never be able to buy a house or live very well, go to VPD.

if you want to live in some small city, not deal with crack heads, where you can buy a nice house for 200k look at RCMP.

fact or opinion?

Generally it is the same job, but different. You deal with the same 5% of the population that cause problems but most RCMP postings are in smaller cities, towns and lots of rural Policing. There are crackheads in East Van and in Estavan Sask, just a higher number in Vancouver.

RCMP is non-union, could be a positive or negative for you personally, work 1 to a car and usually carry a much higher file load than most Munis. We are a Para-Military outfit and different rules apply to us. When it suits the Federal Govt, we are RCMP, when it suits them we are federal Govt. civil servants.

RCMP=Transfers. If you like mobility and working different areas this can be a plus. If you don't like Wasagaming or Carrot Lake as a future home then Van PD is for you. Remote, small town LDPs' are often a way of life. Some like it, some would rather the creature comforts Vancouver has to offer.


Right now I believe Van PD are better paid that RCMP. We just got a raise but tend to lag at least a couple of years behind as the Federal Govt waits till others get their raises then gives us a "kinda like that" raise.

RCMP offers a much wider career path in the specialized sections...everything from VIP Protection, national organized crime, counter-terrorism, sky marshalls, to Federal sector stuff. Van PD would probably see you getting promoted quicker and accessing their own specialized sections but they are local level only.


Talk to both sets of recruiters. Both outfits are screaming for recruits. They all blew it by ignoring the boomers retirement thing and are scrambling to replace lots of retiring and transferring Members right now. Find what fits best for you, that is the most important thing.

apparently new west city police has the best toys.

Oh ya just HAD to bring up the Chargers didn't ya!!!!!!! '

...among other things. apparently they get the newest, latest and greatest gear as well. new west loves their cops.

new west huh? damn, maybe i should apply with them too.

nw is on my list of municipals to apply with. I want some toys!

the only problem with working new west is that that city is ghe-etto

still better than surrey

I think all the police forces have pretty cool toys... I supply them some of their toys and you can tell which teams have unlimited budgets... ERT, Bomb just come in and get whatever they want... West Van definitely has a cool assortment of cars... Dodge Chargers etc and their cruisers definitely look the part with the black and white colour scheme!

yeah, those west van cruisers are hot.

Whats the annual salary for a NWPD constable? Its not listed on the website.

that is weird.. the last time i check before my rcmp app started it was along the same lines as VPD... now they dont list the salaries and benefits anymore.

I remember my criminology proff, whos a sargent or something for the VPD, told me that rookies make about $20 an hour..

is that true?

Is it true that there is a contract now for new recruits...stating that if you sign a 3-4 year term with them, you will be guranteed a lower mainland position?

No there is not. With the RCMP if you are from the lower mainland and you want to come back to the lower mainland, I'd say you have about a pretty good chance of coming back. Most people joining the RCMP don't want to work here because of the cost of living, so they have a hard time filling the spots here. Also, because of that, it is hard to get out of the lower mainland once you are here. I have a minimum of 5 years that I have to spend in Richmond, which is on par with most of the cities around here if you are posted to them. It almost seems like the RCMP in the lower mainland is totally backwards from the rest of the country because here it is extremely hard to get a transfer whereas everywhere else you are guaranteed a transfer after a couple of years.

All that being said, I almost wish I had gone somewhere else now. Throughout my time in the RCMP I have had the chance to do short term stints in some small towns including an 80 person town in the northern Yukon (all by choice). It is a great experience and if you want to make some good cash with very little expenses, anywhere outside the lower mainland might be worth looking at.

Personally, I would recommend the RCMP over the muni's just because of all the different opportunities open to you. On the other hand if you are dead-set against going anywhere else in the country besides the lower mainland, you should probably stick with the muni's because that is always a possibility you will get shipped out to Assumption Alberta as a troop mate of mine found out the hard way.

^ haha... when they ask me to choose 10 cities after they tell me what province im going too, it's going to be all the farthest north as possible.. be a real Gravel Road Cop. lol

that or my VPD appy goes faster and get hired there first :S

but it's gonna get really cold for the winter!

more like a snow cop!

buy a nice house for 150k vs 1 million. I'd take the north in a heart beat.

The RCMP staffs the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut through volunteers for the positions within the Force. I understand that they don't have to try hard to fill any of them.

I had a troopmate who was posted to Resolute Bay, the northern most detachment in Canada. He thought it was one of the greatest choices he had made.

Of course there are those of us who were sucked into the black hole, aka the Lower Mainland and have spent their entire service there too.

If you see it as a plus, the RCMP has many different opportunities that you would never get in a city force. If you want to think really different, I also had a troopmate who spent a couple of years in Vienna, Austria as a liaison.

I've heard from a fellow RS member that cops have the opportunities to go overseas to work as well. How does this work?

Thanks!

It's an Interpol liaison position. I don't know how it works, but do know that generally it goes to senior people. There is also a chance to work international investigations if you end up in the right place. Unfortunately, I don't know much about it.