Police Foundations Opens the Doors to Protecting Your City

The jobs of professionals such as police officers, customs officers, security officers, and more are different but at their essence is the requirement to protect local communities, cities, provinces and, essentially, the country. While tasks vary, students only have to attend one program to get their foot in the door. That program is Centennial College's Police Foundations undertaking, which prepares its students to apply for positions with the Provincial Police Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Armed Forces and more.

Taking two years to complete and resulting in an Ontario College diploma, the program is facilitated through paramilitary training that helps students to develop discipline and deportment for the stringent field that they will enter. A large part of the program sees students attending courses that simulate real life and incorporate case studies for hands-on learning. These courses include: Canadian Criminal Justice System (assists students with becoming familiar with the three agencies of social control — the police, the courts and the correctional system — and how they relate to each other); Criminal Code and Policing Powers (allows students to understand and apply police responsibilities legislated on both federal and provincial levels of government); Crime Scene Management (enables students to analyze a crime scene and secure evidence for court proceedings); and more.

As a result of attending the Police Foundations Program students are able to: 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; 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 information-gathering skills used in basic investigative techniques; assess crisis intervention strategies; and develop strategies to assist crime victims.

The application process for Police Foundations involves the following. 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.

In addition to these standard Centennial College requirements there is 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. For full details, please check out Police Foundations admissions page.