Have ever wondered how to become a police officer? If yes, this article is for you. You will learn everything you need to know about the job and studies to get there. I will answer a variety of questions just for you. I will explain the risks of the job, tell you about a typical day, what do police officers do besides saving people's lives. It is my pleasure to tell you everything there is to know about this profession.
I don't know what it is like to be a police officer yet, but I believe that it can be challenging. It does not look easy, but it sure looks interesting.
Being a police officer is not just about giving tickets. Police officers will be there for people in need. They will go on 911 calls and help people in every way they can, and make people feel safe. Their jobs are to be there for people and help society to feel safe and well-taken care of.
A typical day for a police officer is a large question because everyday is different. Officers go to the police station, get dressed up with their uniform, and then, the day starts. Every call is different, every victim, witness, suspect is different. Some days can be really calm, and the day after, someone can drive in a kindergarten with a bus.
Police officers work at police station, but most of the time, they are in their police car and going on 911 calls.
Becoming a police officer may seem like a complicated process. Let me help you! It all starts in secondary, you need to have good grades in secondary 4-5 in order to have a chance to be in the Police Technology program in cegep. Police Technology is a hard program to get into and students need to stand out because there are a lot of people who want to be in the program but the places are limited. If you have the grades require, you will be summoned to the Fitness Test. At this point you are not officially in the program yet. The fitness test will depend on which school you applied to. An exemple would be in Collège Ahuntsic, the fitness test required in a Cooper test. Females need to run 2300 meters in 12 minutes, and males need to run 2700 meters in 12 minutes. If you passed the fitness test, you have a medical test to check if you're in good health. If you have completed all the tests, you get in the program. After the cegep, you need to go to ENPQ in Nicolet for 15 weeks to complete your training. THEN, you're a police officer.
The salary of a police officer will vary. It depends on which police service you're working for. In Montreal, the salary of a police officer after a year is $63 000, and it keeps getting bigger every year. By working for the SPVM, you will also have bonuses (7,3%) because you in a big city. For police officers who work in a municipality, the salary will depend on the city budget. For exemple, Terrebonne will pay you around $88 000$ per year from the beginning, but in St-Eustache, the salary from the beginning will be around $52 000. In conclusion, being police officer is a well-paid job considering the short studies and formation.
The ENPQ's training is an additional training but is obligatory. There, police officers learn who to shoot with a real gun, to use pepper spray, urgency driving, fight with people. This training is the most important to have, and they don't get that kind of training at cegep.
The dangers of being a police officer are getting into fights, getting attacked, etc. There are some people who don't like the police and police officers have to be aware that people might try to hurt officers. Also, they interact a lot with people with mental diseases that might be dangerous. Beside, police officers are often under stress which can affect their mental health. Seeing the sad reality of some people can be really hard and some officers are just not mentally prepared.
Not high! Being police officer require to have judgment and humanity, which is not something that robots are able to have. Police officers have to have compassion and to be able to create a certain relation with victims and being reassuring. Police officers are not ready to be replaced by robots.
The retirement age will also depend on many facts. First of all, how old were you when you started your career? You don't retire at a certain age, you will retire after a certain time of service. At SPVM, you can retire after 25 years of service. In Magog, you can retire only after 35 years of service. So, if you became a police officer at 21 in Montreal, you would be able to retire at 46.
To conclude, police officer is an amazing career with a lot of advantages like salary and work conditions. Indeed, it can be a little bit complicated to get in the program, but the effort is worth it at the end. So, if you are someone who does not like the routine, don't necessary want to go to university, and make a good salary, this is for you!