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Police constable
Paula Wright’s on her way to becoming a full-fledged police constable with the Ontario Provincial Police’s Dufferin Detachment in Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada.
It’s taken a lot of work to get this far.
First you have to get a certificate of results. “As long as someone has the certificate, you can apply anywhere,” Wright says. The certificate allows you to apply to a police service. It tells potential employers that you have passed the exams required before you can be hired.
You have to take exams like the general aptitude test, which tests your intellect: your math, English and spatial skills. There’s also the test of your communications skills through essays. And then, the physical readiness evaluation that mimics the physical challenges you could encounter in the field: the shuttle run, a mile and a half of timed intervals; another timed circuit of exercises that simulate dragging a body; handcuffing; jumping over a wall.
Don’t forget to keep your exams up to date. If you’re not yet hired, you have to retake the physical test every six months.
Got your certificate? Then apply to the OPP (http://www.gov.on.ca/opp). If accepted, you’ll attend a one-week period at the OPP Academy. Here, you’ll get an introduction to the OPP’s standards.
“The first week you’re there, you learn quickly their standard and what they expect, so you can prepare,” Wright says. “(It’s) an introduction to the OPP and what policing is going to entail.”
After the week-long orientation, new-hires are sent to Aylmer, Ontario, for three months at the Ontario Police College. It’s then back to the OPP Academy for a month.
“When you first start, there’s so much information!” says Wright.
After completing the tests and training programs, new police constables are on probation for eight weeks. During this eight-week period, they are accompanied on their shifts (which usually last 10 to 12 hours) by another, more-seasoned employee.
“I perform regular duties, but because I am on probation, I have a full-time police constable with me,” Wright says. After her probationary period, she will be able to perform the same duties as she does now, only by herself this time.
Her duties as a police constable will include general traffic control and assisting with accidents to finding missing people and conducting investigations.
“I’ve always had the interest to go into policing,” she says. “The OPP for me had the diversity and resources more than any other police service. They’re large, they’re professional, and that was important to me.” Article provided by 
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