Police officers are leaders in the community, but do not wait until you are a police officer to be a leader. Take on a leadership role in your school, at work, or in your community. Give back to your community by volunteering your time doing something you are passionate about.
Plan Your Policing Career
Here are some tips to help you plan for your future career in policing, straight from the pros in our Recruiting Unit. If you are interested in policing, this is a great guide to follow.
What we look for in a new recruit
A big part of being a police officer is talking with people to solve problems. Not everyone we deal with is cooperative and reasonable. We want to see that you can stay cool under pressure and find creative solutions to complex problems. You will need to make good use of the most important muscle you have...your brain!
Your high school and post-secondary marks are important to us. Get your average as high as possible. Your marks tell us about your work ethic and your ability to learn new things. Your career in policing will start off in the classroom at the Ontario Police College, and it does not stop there. We are always learning new skills and we take training courses throughout our entire careers. Post-secondary education is a huge asset.
People expect police officers to be a positive role model in the community, but this expectation does not stop when we take off our uniforms and go home. We want someone who exemplifies this quality on and off duty.
Honesty is one of the most important virtues in life and this holds true for police officers. We are given a great deal of authority and are required to make decisions that can have significant impacts on the lives of others. We are required to testify in court and it is expected that we will be honest and trustworthy in everything we do.
We want you to have a good driving record with no more than six demerit points, but the less you have the better. Police officers spend a lot of time in a police cruiser throughout their career, especially for the first many years. In emergencies, the law allows for us to exceed the speed limit but that does not mean we can be reckless. Careless or dangerous driving can have tragic consequences and we want to see that you handle yourself responsibly behind the wheel of every vehicle you drive.
Our job is demanding both physically and mentally. You should have an active lifestyle and eat healthy. Being physically fit helps you to perform your job safely and with confidence. Start to practice the Ontario Fitness PIN test (which you must pass in the first stage of our application process) well before you apply. Aim to score between 85 and 100.
A big part of our job is report writing, either in our notebook or on our computers. We want applicants who have good spelling and grammar and can type at least 40 words per minute.
Depending on what stage you are at in your life, you can do different things to prepare for your policing career.
Secrets to success while you are in...
It is never too early to start thinking about what you want to do when you grow up. If you want to be a police officer, you should start forming these good habits:
Stay out of trouble |
| Do not break the law, pick fights, steal, break things, or bully someone. Follow the rules at school, home, and everywhere else you go. |
Treat people with respect |
|
Teachers, parents, police officers, and other adults should be obvious, but this also means kids you play sports with, kids you go to school with, and kids you may not get along with very well. |
Get involved at school and in your community |
| When you are old enough, find a way to give back. Maybe you help a younger kid at school learn how to read or become a school safety patroller. You could take some friends to the park or school yard and clean up garbage. Make it a game to see who can fill the most garbage bags. Think of an idea, and talk to a parent or guardian to put your plan into action. |
Work hard in school |
| School is one of the most important things in life. Have a good attitude towards school, pay attention in class, ask questions and always do your best. Everything you do in elementary school is a building block to high school. You want to take everything you have learned and all of your good study habits with you when you go into grade 9. |
Stay away from drugs, alcohol, and smoking |
| None of these things are good for you, and all of them are against the law. You should stay away from the kids who are doing these things, as it will only get you into trouble. |
You are not a kid anymore and you will be held responsible for the choices you make. These choices can and will affect you for the rest of your life, and a bad choice could prevent you from ever becoming a police officer. Hopefully you can build on what you have already done in elementary school but now is the time to get things headed in the right direction.
Follow these tips to give yourself the best chance of joining our ranks someday:
Read the elementary school tips |
| Read the elementary school tips if you have not already and use them as a template for how you live your life. The older you get, the more important those things become. |
Be responsible online |
| By now you may have a cell phone and be active on social media. The way someone behaves online is often the most accurate reflection of who they really are as a person. It is important to understand that anything you put on the Internet has the potential to be there forever. A quick Google search will reveal countless stories of people whose lives have been ruined by something they did online 5, 10, or more years ago. Don't be involved in cyberbullying, sharing naked pictures of people, or other immature and inappropriate behaviour online. |
Own your education |
| Your high school marks are important to us. Get your average as high as possible. A post-secondary education is a huge asset and the program you take is not important to us. Police Foundations can be a great option for some people but it is not a requirement, nor does it provide you with an advantage to be hired. Pick a program that interests you and will motivate you to learn while keeping your options as open as possible. Tap into your guidance counsellor to help make sure you are taking all the classes you need to get into the post-secondary program you want. |
Be a leader |
| Most high schools have countless ways to be involved, whether it is the student council, the football team, or the chess club. Be creative and find ways to step up and be a leader in your school. |
Volunteer |
| You have four years to complete forty hours of community service to get your high school diploma but that should just get you started. Think of it this way: You are in school 10 months of the year. If you spend 3 hours of one day of one weekend a month volunteering over your four years in high school, that would be 120 hours of volunteer work with a minimal impact on your free time. |
Get a job |
| You might be too busy to work during the school year, but the summer is a great opportunity to get a job. This is a perfect opportunity to build up your resume, get some work experience, and create positive references for your police application package. You may even want to explore the Youth In Policing Initiative |
Stay in shape |
| There are two parts to this: Eating right and being active. Healthy eating is a huge part of staying in shape. The phys-ed teachers at your school should be able to give you some good advice. Staying active is easy and can be fun too. You can play on a sports team, do recreational activities like biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing, or simply go for a run a few times a week. If you join a gym, you can find plenty of good work-out plans for all skill levels for free online. |
Drugs, alcohol, and smoking |
| High school is a time when you will be exposed to people smoking, drinking alcohol and doing drugs on a regular basis. Your friends may try to pressure you into doing these things but you need to remember that they are still illegal and not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Just because other people are doing it (and getting away with it) doesn't change the fact that we expect you to stay out of trouble and not break the law. If you have turned 19 and want to drink, we expect you to do so responsibly. |
You are an adult now and it should go without saying that your behaviour needs to reflect that.
Read the elementary and high school tips |
| Read the elementary and high school tips if you have not already and use them as a template for how you live your life. The closer you get to putting in your application the more important those things become. |
Keep Volunteering |
| Keep finding ways to give back to your community. It does not need to take over your life, just do not forget to keep doing it. |
Keep your grades up |
| You will never be penalized for having grades that are too high. Aim to make the Dean's List every semester. |
Challenge yourself at work |
| No matter what job you have, always do your best. We want to see that you are self-motivated even if you are doing something you do not like doing. Policing requires a diverse set of skills so any work experience is a valuable asset. |
View our Constable/Cadet Application Checklist
If you have any questions that aren't covered in this section, contact our Recruiting Unit.