phoenix25

Hey.

We are planning on a move to Toronto. Does anyone know the procedure for applying for the Police, i.e for the applicant testing service for Ontario do I have to wait until I am perm res before I can apply for constable testing, or can I apply and do the test without first getting the PR visa?

Wife is main applicant.

The completed theory test last for 3 years.

Thanks all.
Dale.

Natalie 28- PhD Pharmacologist
Dale 31- Police Officer

dboy

I would start with a call to the Ontario Police College:

http://www.opconline.ca/

or failing that, Toronto Police Service.

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/careers/processforms.php

It does cost the force money to put applicants through the process, so I should imagine that they would want to ensure that permits etc are in order.

phoenix25

Thanks for the info, i'll give them a call and ask.
If we applied for PR visa without job offer, how long do we have before the issued visa expires? How long would we have from receiving the visa to having to actually fly to Canada to activate?
Thanks

Married2abrit

I have a Canadian relative via marriage and it took him forever to get with the Toronto police department because he wasn't what they classed as a "visible minority". He is Canadian born and bred and got good scores and it took him over five years to get on the force. Your experience may be different; best of luck to you in your new adventure.

Auld Yin

It may help the OP to know that there are a number of police forces within the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

1) Metropolitan Toronto Police
2) Durham Regional Police
3) York Regional Police
4) Halton Regional Police
5) Peel Regional Police

There is also the Ontario Provincial Police which provides policing services for all areas/towns/cities without police forces.

http://www.gtapolice.com/

phoenix25

Its similar over here, like you say- hoping my experience will help. thanks

fledermaus

The trainee pays $7500 in fees to the OPC but you do get paid while training.

dboy

I found the same thing when I was joining the RCMP and it took me about the same to get in, although it was a different climate with not as much hiring going on (around the late 90's). It was called affirmative action. It does seem to have fallen off over the past 5 years or so though and is as much about merit, but I should imagine minorites and woman would stand out as applicants against white males who make up bout 75 percent of the applicant pool, and would have an easier time getting in.

It is hard to get in. When i went through it was about 10 percent of all applicants who were actually hired. Just passing the various stages is not enough, one has to excel at them. Moreover, your resume has to be competative. Post seconday, relative work experience, life experince, volunteer work, community involvement etc all help.

austinallegro

Hi. For applicant testing services you can take the tests even while in Toronto on holiday. When I took mine there was an Irishman who popped over and managed to take all the tests within a 2 week timeframe. However, he failed one and that was that.

The chief problem is that the physical expires after only 6 months so people try to do that test last. Otherwise, you'll have to retake. ATS is a totally private company selling a service so all you need is a credit card.

One plus is that the physical is not so bad. I took it twice in my forties and passed and I'm no gym rat (though was very fit at the time) and I don't do weight lifting.

Recruiting for Toronto (by far the biggest service in Ontario) is frozen for 2011 and there is talk of freezing through 2012 as well. Peel Region was the only service in Ontario not using ATS, however, they may now have fallen in line. Traditionally, Peel Regions testing was far more physical based with less emphasis on the Maths/English side of things.

Hope some of this helped.

austinallegro

The best thing to do is communicate with Applicant Testing Services (ATS) via the website: http://www.applicanttesting.com/

ATS will do the checking to make sure candidates know what paperwork is required. ATS is the front end for police (plus courts, parking enforcement, firefighters, etc).

ultrarunner

To the OP....as someone mentioned above, it's not so much other issues that have been mentioned, it's budget that plays a big part in how many people are hired. Don't forget that there is a pool of people waiting for any vacancy, and just because you take the test and pass all the stages doesn't mean you get a job.
I hear the Ottawa police are freezing hiring till 2012 on the radio the other day, but after all the publicity they've had in the past few months, it's not surprising. There is always the RCMP to consider, and the military

dboy

I can really see recruitment dropping off over the next 2 - 3 years and will then likely consist of limted hiring as it was some 10 years or so ago. There was a lot of hiring in the past 10 years due to boomers retiring and, in the case of the RCMP, a 5 year hiring freeze that lead to a frenzy of hiring (1500 or so a year). Many of those that got in the police in the past couple of years will also have a slower time of moving up the ranks and many will spend the first half of their careers as constables and movement to specialized units will be slower.

Those that got in the last 5 years or so, had it easy, due to all the hiring that was going on.

dboy

RCMP requires applicants to be Canadian Citizens. PR won't cut it. We are still hiring but has definately slowed. E Divison (BC) is only taking about 200 applicants this year compared to around 800 or so in the past 5 years or so. When you consider E Divison represents something like one third of the entire force, you get the picture on a national level.

My advice is to anyone truly serious about a career in policing, is blanket all forces with applications and make yourself the best applicant you can. It is a great career and policing in Canada is amongst the best in terms of pay, benefits and working conditions.

ultrarunner

You are right. I decided to go the military route, and as a Captain now am happy with the pay (yearly increase, deployments, exercises home and abroad, playing with toys ).

To the OP...if you manage to get into one force, it might be easy to transfer to another. Guys have gone from the military to the rcmp and police. Also don't forget that the military has a police also.

richmag69

As previous posters have said you can take the ATS tests as they are a private outfit and just want your money but the problem is that the fitness expires in 6 months and to apply for a position everything has to be current. If you know your PR is imminent then it is worth getting the testing done. The whole hiring process can take anything from 6 months(if you are lucky) to 2 years with the average from start to finish being about a year. Most people in the process have to periodically update their fitness (which is not particularly difficult and fairly inexpensive - IF you are in Canada!)
You can apply for everything from the UK if you have permanent residency with some services. In my case I landed and activated PR while on holiday and saw the recruiting department at the same time. I then set up a date 3 months later when I flew back and took the ATS tests and did the interviews over a 3 day period.
It is worth talking to the recruiting departments of the police service you are interested in to see if they are recruiting and if they would be interested in you - they are generally very friendly and helpful. However they will not entertain you too far until you have PR status.
In my experience most police services here have a high regard for ex British police and on my OPC course there were 6 brits(3 OPP/1 York/1 Halton/1 Barrie) and 1 instructor was English. At my detachment I am 1 of 3 brits and most have previous Police, fire or military experience. So once you get your PR you should have a good chance of getting on with someone but don't expect the process to happen too quick.
As for hiring freezes I can't speak for other services but OPP have a lot of people coming up for retirement soon so will be actively recruiting in the near future. Good luck.