While the concept of signal crime may sound like something you have to study for on your police entrance exams, don’t worry, it’s a fairly straightforward concept. All it means is that certain crimes that take place in a local community may be indicators or signals, that something is terribly wrong in the community. That [….]

Does community-policing work?  In a word, yes, with the right type of commitment. And that is precisely what is going on in Ontario even as you read this – an increased commitment to practicing the tenets of community policing. It’s no longer about just responding to a call on a case-by-case basis. It’s about taking [….]

There’s a really short answer to this question – no! This is interesting because there are actually some people who think they are able to beat, or call it fake it if you want, a psychological test. If it were only that easy, you’d see a lot of unsuitable police officers on the streets. The [….]

All the tests you take when you are going for the police exam are going to intimidate you if you don’t take the time to find out about them. Once you do know about them, and then work on the areas you need help in, no problem. This is one of the major reasons you [….]

Even though the day you get your badge you will be raring to go and feel like you are able to tackle all the world’s problems, the fact is – you all have to start someplace. Usually that someplace will be on traffic detail or perhaps even walk a beat or ride a bike for [….]

You may have seen this next trait in the movies or even on TV crime shows. Sure that might make you laugh, but in “real cop life on the job”, the principle of the greater good is operative. Knowing that, would you be able to say you could follow that principle? Would you take the [….]

You’ve got to know that there will come a time when you will get an order that you don’t like or perhaps think is overly harsh and just plain contrary. So what do you do? That’s the question your police examiners are going to want to know. How will you handle that situation? You are [….]

By being a glory hog, we mean are you one of these people who like to take the credit for things you did not do or ideas you did not have? Or will you make sure others know who really did the deed or came up with the idea, as in share the limelight? This [….]

So what is your personality like? Easy going, amenable, outgoing and easily approachable? Or, do you have one of those personalities like a Pit Bull on a bad day? If you do, you might want to reconsider becoming a police officer. What the heck is a “police personality” anyhow? Well if you spend any time [….]

Here are a couple of more things you will need to be aware of if you are going to be a good police officer. Do you readily accept extra work or responsibility without immediately expecting to receive extra pay? There are many kinds of people in just about any workforce and some of them are [….]