The working conditions of a police officer can vary fromeasy tostressful situations where the officers life and the lives of others arethreatened. The officer must deal with these situations in the way they feel is best but sometimes the officer cannot deal with this situation on their own andthey have to call in backup witch can help them deal with the situation. In these times of change many workplaces are finding it necessary to changethe ways in which they do business. The RCMP for example are moving into a more community based policing. This makes the police more accessible to the community. In this new system the RCMP try to solve the problem if they are repeatedlycalled to the same home for domestic disputes they will stay for how ever longit takes to find the route of the problem, whereas if they were to encounterthe same situation their policy was to arrive in two minutes and stay for 20minutes.
This new program is the starting stages and already it has had greatreviews and great public support, as it brings the police closer to thecommunity. Another part of this community based policing is that there are crimeprevention comities that are run by various community groups that have monthlymeetings with the police. A police officer starts their career with on the jobtraining and then they move on to become a constable where they must be able torelocate to any part of the country where they are positioned. In order for anofficer to advance tier career they may have to switch divisions where theircareers may excel. The work values for a police officer is to uphold the law,patrol assigned areas and maintain public safety. They also participate inpublic information groups and safety programs.
The nature of the work is always changing as crimes are becoming more andmore sophisticated, as well as there is no set times that any crimes will happenso their jobs are always different. The job of a police officer is alwaysdifferent as they could be talking to various groups on any number of topics. They could also be testifying in court in relation to an investigation theyparticipated in. Officers may also take calls on situations in which they canprovide counselling to the caller until help arrives or provide necessarynumbers of shelters and food banks.
The outlook in this field is good although an officer could go through thesix month training program at the ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE TRAININGfacilities in Regina Saskatchewan, but when an officer is finished they are notnecessarily guaranteed a job as the RCMP as the officers are selected as totheir qualities and what degrees that you may have from universities or colleges. This training that you receive may be useful in finding a career in a city orprovincial police department. The projected growth in the field of law enforcement from the years 1995-2000 is 0.65% and the projected growth rate for commissioned police officers is0.72% from the years 1995-2000. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there will bemore demand for commissioned police officers as the public is more and moredissatisfied with the RCMP and other police organizations.
This information wasprovided from the Canadian Occupational projection system (COPS). Commissioned police officers work for the municipal, provincial and Federal agencies. The starting salary for a police officer in at entry level is around $30,000and the average yearly wage of a regular officer is around $49,000 and those atthe top of the field can earn up to $64,000 per year. Commissioned officers earnat entry level $50,000 and the average commissioned officer earns $66,000 whilethose at the top of the field earn up to $80,000. Qualifications and or skills that would help a person to become a policeofficer are sense of responsibility, successful completion of CPR courses and survival swimming courses. You must also have a high school diploma and if youhave any post secondary education it would certainly be an asset if it is a degree in social sciences such as sociology and or criminology.
At the time ofentry into the RCMP training facility you must also have a valid drivers licenseand before you are allowed to drive a patrol car(once you have been posted) youmust have at least 16,000 km of driving experience. Some spin off fields of work that a police officer can use his/her trainingor skills in are: Police officer ^ Commissioned police officer^^Private Detective Sheriffs and Bailiffs ^ ^ Store DetectiveSecurity Guards7. Some advantages and disadvantages that are associated with this field of workas stated by officers in the field are: Advantages – A sense of good for helping others – The variety of the job in each day – Being able to help individuals who are victims of a crime orAn accident.
The probability of injury or death on the job – Working nights, weekends, and holidays – being on call 24 hours a day – Working long hours during an emergency – Moving around the country8. Post secondary education that is required for the job of a police officerare: A degree in sociology and or criminology, training at the RCMP trainingfacility in Regina or you could attend Holland college in PEI(Which is atraining facility were officers for city and commissioned officers) You shouldalso attend a university were you could receive a degree in sociology orcriminology. Entrance requirements for in trance into these courses atuniversities are English and it is suggested that you have a high school creditfor sociology, modern word problems and law.
Questions that you should ask yourself before perusing a career as a PoliceOfficer are:a) Do I have the necessary education to Perdue this career?B) Can I preform the to physical and mental demands of the job?C) Can I adjust to another part of the country if I am transferred?D) Can I handle going to a crime scene where there is a victim of a homicide orsuicide?e) Can I preform under a great deal of stress?F) Can I preform to the social and mental demands of this job?G) Can I keep my physical condition within the parameters of the job?H) how will this job effect my present and or future family?I) could I testify in court and participats in community outreach programseffectively?10.Steps that I will need to take to better Perdue this career are: To studyharder at my school work, take and pass both a CPR and survival swimming course,I must also get my physical condition up to the necessary levels and maintainthat level for the duration of my being a police officer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Discover program on the network at A.D.H.S,1995Saint Mary’s 1995-96 school calender – from student services.
- Talking with officers in the fiel on how they feel about thier job and what isrequired of them on the job.
- Post secondary education day in the gym on the 29th of November I talked with arepresentative of Holland collegeLaw
