Policing as a career ?

[Shorn]

^ doesn't hurt to try but i believe average age hired is around 28-30.

rcmp sends everybody to regina. vpd you train at the justice institute i believe.
one of the major differences between rcmp and vpd is that rcmp will pay for your trip to regina and you get paid while getting trained. vpd you have to pay for your own training. (however after you are hired, the vpd pays a bit better than rcmp)

also see my post above. if you are asian chances are you will be posted back in the lower mainland.. but you _could_ get sent somewhere else.

if you are serious about getting hired then you should start making changes to your lifestyle now. i don't know what kind of people you associate with, but you need to cut off ties with anyone who does drugs (yes weed counts) or is involved in anything illegal. that includes being at parties with these types of people or even just going to watch a movie, not just good friends.

your family will not matter as long as you choose your friends are fine. like they say, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family.

also the polygraph (lie detector) will ask you many, many personal questions (one of which is actually have you ever had sexual relations with an animal ) but these guys are very well trained to see if you are lying. also don't look up how to beat a lie detector, they will ask you that as well.
they'll also ask you about every single time you had any contact with law enforcement.

just answer truthfully. they are not looking for perfect people but for people with integrity and honesty. so even if you have ever done little things like shoplifting when you were younger they want you to tell them. cause people change and grow up and they are looking for people who are law abiding citizens NOW (obviously this doesn't apply to major crimes.. they even have a warning that says they may arrest you for any major crimes you disclose to them through the polygraph)

the background check they will ask for a list of all your friends and family and employers and call everybody and ask them questions about you.

other than that the physical is not very hard i believe. its called the PARE, i forget what it stands for but look it up. it's either a pass or fail (you have to do an obstacle course within a certain time).


as far as off duty goes, what some cops tell me is that when you become a cop, most of your friends are cops. simply cause civilians generally have uneasy feelings about being friends with police for whatever reason.

[BigTrollFace]

24 with Bobby Lee and John Cho - YouTube

FREEZE LAPD

[j604]

For the Polygraph test what would be considered a major crime ?

[westopher]

Anything violence related I'm sure would fall into that category. Assault, sexual crimes, major thefts. Pretty much the things that cause serious physical, mental or financial harm to others. The things that aren't just harmless lapses in judgement. I'm just offering educated guesses though, not real first hand experience.

[Tim Budong]

These are the types of careers in which for one to pursue, you have to be pro-active in gathering info and talking to people currently on the force.

Good luck to you!

[Shorn]

Originally Posted by j604

For the Polygraph test what would be considered a major crime ?

NOTICE REGARDING PRIOR SERIOUS CRIMINAL OFFENCES AND SERIOUS RISK TO THE SAFETY OF OTHERS

The information you provide during the Recruiting Process is collected by the RCMP for the purposes of an employment application, and security screening. However, if an Applicant admits to having committed a serious and undetected criminal offence, or is deemed to pose a serious risk to the safety of others, the RCMP may use or disclose specific information for a law enforcement or public safety purpose. While cases of such use and disclosure outside of the Recruiting Process are rare and exceptional, the RCMP strongly discourages any Applicant from completing the Applicant Questionnaire or attending the PEP Interview and Examination if you believe this Notice applies to you.

Examples of serious criminal offences include, but are not limited to:

murder;
sexual assault;
child pornography: accessing, possession, distribution, or the making of;
any crime involving children;
arson resulting in loss of life or substantial damage;
forcible confinement;
robbery;
crime committed with a facial covering and/or a weapon.
Should you be uncertain if this Notice applies to you, please consult the RCMP Recruiting Office for clarification

If you admit to having committed one or a number of serious criminal offence(s) on the Applicant Questionnaire or during the PEP Interview or Examination, be advised that the information may be disclosed to entities with lawful authority to collect such information (e.g. police of jurisdiction or child protection agency).

If, in light of the information provided on the Applicant Questionnaire or during the PEP Interview or Examination, you are deemed to pose a serious threat to others, be advised that the information may be disclosed to entities with lawful authority to collect such information (e.g. police of jurisdiction or child protection agency).

You are also advised that such disclosures could lead to incident reports being entered into police databases, which could impact future employment or volunteering opportunities, or other activities that require security screening (e.g. employment with schools, banks, etc.).

Such disclosures could also lead to an investigation, arrest, charge(s), criminal prosecution, conviction, and, ultimately, imposition of a sentence.

but i'd hope that you don't need to ask this question anyway if you were considering to be a police officer..

[JaPoola]

Originally Posted by j604

Thanks for the response guys. I currently just came out of high school. Is the RCMP training the same boot camp you would attend if applying for VPD ? If I was to apply for the RCMP, chances are I would have to move away from the lower mainland ? Everything else seems pretty straight forward and up to the candidate.

What went wrong in your high school career to make you want to go into policing?

[jaguar604]

It isn't just a job, it's a lifestyle.

[westopher]

That can be said for many jobs if you plan to be successful in it.

[j604]

Nothing went wrong, I just love the idea of dealing with different situations daily and having the freedom to drive/patrol certain sections of the city. With all the negative stress and although it may be challenging its definitely a job I'm quite interested in pursuing.

[StaxBundlez]

be careful,.. watch out for these guys.

[spyker]

Originally Posted by Shorn

your family will not matter as long as you choose your friends are fine. like they say, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family.

Actually this does matter,it matters alot.A very good friend of mine,his niece wanted to join the VPD,he told her not to waste her time due to her family ties with big time gangsters.She did not listen,went through with it and sure enough when they did a background search,she was dismissed imediately.

Example,if a guy/girl wanted to join the VPD or RCMP and has a family member that's a HA or a drug boss,do you actually think it won't matter.

[Expresso]

Originally Posted by spyker

Actually this does matter,it matters alot.A very good friend of mine,his niece wanted to join the VPD,he told her not to waste her time due to her family ties with big time gangsters.She did not listen,went through with it and sure enough when they did a background search,she was dismissed imediately.

Example,if a guy/girl wanted to join the VPD or RCMP and has a family member that's a HA or a drug boss,do you actually think it won't matter.

Something similar happened to an acquaintance, He got rejected and RCMP told him to move out due to someone in his household holding him back if he was to reapply.

OP, you won't get in straight out of high school you are going to need more life experience. Get a job in loss prevention or security or something similar and goto school if you can as well.

[10-9]

If you are just out of high school, and are thinking about a career in law enforcement, you should look into the career presentations that both the VPD and the RCMP offer. At that time, you will have a lot of your questions answered, and also be able to get a better idea of what policing is all about. It isn't anything near what you see on TV.

Being right out of high school, I suggest you start volunteering for the VPD or the RCMP.. or even any volunteer organizations.

There are a few police officers on this forum, including myself, and you are more than welcome to send me a PM with regards to specific questions. You don't want to get "heresay" information from people who may not know the right answer.

[Soundy]

Rule #1: be prepared for 90% of RS to hate you, especially if you end up on traffic duty.

Rule #2: be prepared for your every action to be questioned and second-guessed, especially by those outside the force, and ESPECIALLY by the media.

Rule #3: you're never allowed to shoot David Eby in the face, as much as you'll want to (and as much of a favor as it would be to the rest of us).

Was listening to CKNW's "Chief Executives" series a couple weeks ago when he had Jim Treliving, CEO of Boston Pizza, on... he was a cop in rural Saskatchewan before he and a buddy started their first pizza joint. He said that at one point, a friend pulled him aside and told him that if he wanted more customers, he needed to learn to smile more, because "they're customers, not suspects."

I think that's a key to being a good cop: knowing when to turn off the "cop" and just be a regular guy... sometimes even when on duty. ISTR skidmark posting once about when he stopped a speeder, found out it was just a young guy who was upset about breaking up with his girlfriend, so he just talked with him a bit, gave him a chance to calm down, and sent him on his way.

[RacePace]

You will see some shit OP, everything DTES has to offer, people's bodies decimated from car crashes, abused kids, suicide attempts, etc etc. You'll have to go back to work without things haunting you and preparing to see that kind of stuff everyday you walk into work

[k00laid]

Originally Posted by spyker

Actually this does matter,it matters alot.A very good friend of mine,his niece wanted to join the VPD,he told her not to waste her time due to her family ties with big time gangsters.She did not listen,went through with it and sure enough when they did a background search,she was dismissed imediately.

Example,if a guy/girl wanted to join the VPD or RCMP and has a family member that's a HA or a drug boss,do you actually think it won't matter.

Originally Posted by HachiSix

Something similar happened to an acquaintance, He got rejected and RCMP told him to move out due to someone in his household holding him back if he was to reapply.

Yep if you have ties with criminally oriented people then your chances are next to none. Youd have a better chance with a criminal record to get in (referring to the cbc link)

[jaguar604]

OP, you are very young. I would not focus on policing as your main career goal at the moment. Goto school and major in something you find enjoyable. Work, volunteer, travel, and try to live a honest life. Re-evaluate yourself when you're in your mid twenties. Maybe you will find a different career path, if not, you should be able to decide for yourself if policing is the life you want to live.

[RacePace]

Originally Posted by RacePace

You will see some shit OP, everything DTES has to offer, people's bodies decimated from car crashes, abused kids, suicide attempts, etc etc. You'll have to go back to work without things haunting you and preparing to see that kind of stuff everyday you walk into work

To enhance my response

Police dispatchers of Reddit, What is the most disturbing call you've gotten? : AskReddit

My most disturbing call: a murder that occurred in March of 1997. Father of a 15 year old girl on the line. Boyfriend had sneaked in the window and shot the girl in the face. Trying to talk dad into CPR, he said there was no part of her face left to breathe into. Boyfriend was later found dead of a self-inflicted gun shot. That's what they call a career ender call. 15 years later, I'm still taking calls. Some of them just get to you. You have to put them out of your mind the best you can, and move on. Dispatchers get the question a lot, "What's the craziest call you've ever taken?" and I usually have something light-hearted to tell, because most people don't want to hear the really bad ones.

Not my story, but one of my stores old security guard.
He had a phone call from a woman crying hysterically that her toddler had been stabbed in the stomach. He wasn't able to get much information out of her and asked if there was anyone with her that could help, so the phone gets passed to the lady's husband. He began asking the husband questions about the toddler's health and whether he's alive and breathing and the husband replies, as calm as anything, "well, I doubt it, i'm holding his intestines in my hand"
Police arrives, guy hears the arrest and, it turns out, the husband found out the toddler wasn't his so stabbed it in the stomach.

In my couple years of dispatching I have been there for quite a few that have stuck with me. You just cannot shrug them off.
Two I will vaguely share on here is one pretty calm/average afternoon until I took a call from a person who begins the conversation "Her arm is gone.. oh my God" and proceeds to tell me he overheard the screams in his neighbors yard and went to investigate finding two distraught parents holding their couple year old child who was just run over by a riding lawnmower. As I get my units enroute I return to my caller and proceed to so some damage control and learn two limbs were dismembered. The child ended up surviving and has prosthetics to assist in her life.
The second call that really stuck to me was a call that started off as a female calling for an ambulance with her cellphone saying the male friend she was with cut himself while cooking. The address she gave my partner was out in the middle of nowhere in a hard to get part of the county that is about 15-20 min away. About 10 minutes after her original call the female calls 911 back and I answer. She is in a panic telling me he is chasing her with the knife and that he stabbed himself in the chest. The line goes dead. Almost immediately after that the ambulance says they are on scene but no answer at the residence. They were update on the issue and advises to stage in their unit. I finally reconnect to the caller on a normal phone line and try to figure out where she is. She tells me she ran outside to hide. I ask here if there is a mailbox, no luck; how about the cars license plate, she gives me it but it comes back to the house address she gave. But, I have a full name for the male. Using that name I am able to check our computers and find an address in the same area but across the river and about 10 min from town. I update the PD/EMS and they head that way. I instruct my caller to call 911 with her cell again to try and trace her call to make sure we have the right location. She does and I am able to confirm with her GPS that we have the right location. Now, I'm focused back on the male who she said is face down and a knife to his side. I ask her to move the knife away and try to roll him over. She sets the phone down on speaker and the most shrill scream of horror can be heard followed by "why, why" she returns to the phone now in hysterics and tells me that he cut open his throat. I give her some instructions to help stop bleeding right as PD/EMS arrives. He is pronounced DOA at the hospital and I was told he had 30 some stab wounds. After detectives interview her and check with coroners staff they concluded that it was self inflicted and a suicide. For a good amount of time I had a feeling it was a domestic disturbance and the female killed him.

[Shorn]

Originally Posted by spyker

Actually this does matter,it matters alot.A very good friend of mine,his niece wanted to join the VPD,he told her not to waste her time due to her family ties with big time gangsters.She did not listen,went through with it and sure enough when they did a background search,she was dismissed imediately.

Example,if a guy/girl wanted to join the VPD or RCMP and has a family member that's a HA or a drug boss,do you actually think it won't matter.

Originally Posted by HachiSix

Something similar happened to an acquaintance, He got rejected and RCMP told him to move out due to someone in his household holding him back if he was to reapply.

OP, you won't get in straight out of high school you are going to need more life experience. Get a job in loss prevention or security or something similar and goto school if you can as well.

well i should rephrase, it does matter to a certain extent, but there are people who do get in with a parent who was in jail etc. if you can prove to them that you don't speak or keep in contact with them then it doesn't matter that much.

obviously not going so far to say having a drugboss for a dad would be okay.

and recruiters DO tell the recruits that 'you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family' so i'm just going by what they say. but of course everything is handled on a case by case basis.

the reason why i know a fair bit about the rcmp is because i was seriously looking into applying as well. i found this forum to be a great resource: Blue Line Forums • View forum - Law Enforcement Applicants (FAQ)

a lot of current and prospective applicants on there and they have some RCMP recruiters as well.