police officer

communications operator

crime analyst

senior advisor

Toronto Police Service

The TPS as it is now called after having gone through several name changes, using the words Police Force sounds too harsh let’s use a name that makes people feel all warm and fuzzy, is a vocation which requires a certain type of individual. Physical, emotional, personal qualities that make you a police officer are learned over time. Basics and fundamentals can be taught to anyone, but learning to use those skills effectively over decades takes commitment, dedication, and sacrifice. This is a long term career not a part time job or something interesting to do for a few years.
Getting prepared and getting hired are difficult. Once you are hired it is difficult to juggle family life with the job. It becomes difficult to sometimes cope with the things you see and experience. The shiny brochure says nothing about waiting hours for a coroner or body removal services to arrive at an apartment building in August to remove a deceased person that is rotting into their mattress. The sights are one thing. The smells are something you will never, ever, forget. It’s a culture all to its own. Some say that is bad. Others see it as a brotherhood of being able to rely on your peers for support. Support your family sometimes can’t give because they don’t understand. It’s not their fault, it’s just how it is. Overall law enforcement is rewarding. It’s more than handing out traffic tickets. It’s about making someone’s day a little better than it was.
Toronto is a large and diverse area. Opportunities are always there. Getting those can be a challenge sometimes as the processes are somewhat skewed depending on what type of niche has to be filled. Yes bias does exist on the police service, just like many other vocations. Another obstacle to deal with. Part of many as being a police officer.

While I was working as a Youth In Policing, I learned what Police Officers do on a daily basis, how to promote community safety, how to be punctual and organized. A typical day at work would start with me and my other three Youth In Policing students/co-workers signing in, then the officers telling us what activities were planned for us, being designing a poster, calling companies to update their information, going to community centres with them or doing our homework if it was too busy for them to organize something. At the end of our week, we would write down what we did for that week and how it helped us and what skills we learned. The only con about this job is that me and my co-workers wouldn't get many hours. We would also sometimes have public speakers talking to us about drinking and driving or internet safety. The most enjoyable part of the job was when we would go visit different place stations like the Mounted Police and the canines because I've never actually been in those police stations, so it was great. Since the Youth In Policing is a 4-5 month job, so different  teenagers get the chance to work with the Toronto Police, the hardest part of the job was saying goodbye to my co-workers because I had so much fun there and it was a great experience. Overall, I enjoyed working with them because since I want to become a Police Officer, I got to see what they did on a daily basis and how their work environment was.

Respond to calls from members of the public relating various issues. These issues may involve the breach of the criminal code of Canada or numerous other statutes. When applicable make arrests, lay charges, collect evidence and complete all necessary reports. Investigate motor vehicle accidents and complete all the necessary reports. Patrol assigned area looking from criminal activity against person or property.  
Attend court when notifies to testify in relation to cases where the officer had an involvement.  
This occupation involved working three rotating shifts which could be taxing on the individuals health and social life. 
This occupation calls on team players since police officer depend on one another for assistance.  
This occupation is most enjoyable since it provides a wealth of work experiences and never allows for boredom. Officers could work numerous investigative fields or could specialize in a particular trade.

Calltaking In class time is very stressful. Daily quizzes and weekly tests. If you can pass that then you can move on to the on the floor training. Some people had some not so great trainers, where some had amazing trainers. They’re tough on you and try to help you pass all the competencies required to complete the on floor training. If you don’t pass, you’re either terminated or you can resign. And you can’t reapply with them ever! You can apply to other departments, just not theirs.
If you do pass, congrats! You can move on to the dispatch class and do it all over again except more stress. Once both classes are successful then you are guaranteed the job and completely signed off as a communications operator. But it is very rewarding if you can make it through, even if you don’t pass the whole thing there’s still an amazing feeling of accomplishment that you still made it so far compared to hundreds of others.

•	Provided general administrative support including: filing, faxing, and data collection
•	Responded to civilian questions and concerns in timely manner and directed to appropriate department or personnel
•	Effectively communicated with staff and community by telephone, email, letter and in person
•	Prepared and modified documents including correspondence, reports, memos and emails
•	Supported the Criminal Identification Bureau and Administration; maintained database of ongoing, confidential police reports
•	All my co-workers did their daily duties to make this easier for officers and supervisors on a daily basis. Enjoyed working alongside them.
•	Making sure that anything that I put my mind to was completed to the best of my abilities at all times.
•	Being able to support staff, was the most enjoyable part of the job to me.

If one is looking for a secure job and benefits then this place is ideal. On the contrary if one is looking forward to a rewarding career then it all depends on which side of the spectrum you belong. Promotions are given to the civilian management favorites only. Job calls are made tailor made to suit their qualifications and purposefully they are given acting positions for prolonged periods and that is entered as a mandatory requirement to even apply for those job calls. This is done to favor their own candidate and to make nobody apply for that job. Civilian management consists of people who have no qualifications nor certifications.

Working for the Toronto Police is great. It shows the younger generation that the Police are more than just enforcing the law and arresting citizens. There is a lot about police officers I didn't know until I joined the Youth in Policing Initiative. I learned that they do community service, Social work and even like to teach stufents about the work place to prepare them for the future. 

Students get to interact with police officers on a personal level and gaind hands-on job experience such graffiti removal, communtiy service events etc.
It's a good way to be familiarize yourself with what the Toronto Police does.

On Sundays, my fellow co-workers and I would go to York University to help assist the Youth Sports Program that our supervisor has founded.  We would teach youth about different sports skills and practice them in various activities.  On Thursdays, we would assist any police officers with paperwork or office work they may have.  I've learned to further manage my time better and developed my interpersonal skills.  The hardest part of this job was finding something to do on Thursday evenings if the officers didn't need any help.  I really enjoyed hanging out with the officers and playing sports with the children on Sundays.

Being a police officer isn't for everyone.  It often calls for extreme patience and good judgement and your actions can fall under harsh scrutiny. The hours can be very long with mandatory overtime and working on your days off.  To perform well requires 100% commitment.  But the rewards more than  compensate.  The pay is good and the job is very secure with a good pension and benefits.  Working for the Toronto Police Service in a big city is fast paced and adventurous.  It is very satisfying to be working to protect society. Management treated me well and were supportive.  There was a strong sense of comradeship among the officers whom I worked with.   You do not need a higher education to be hired and promotion is on merit.

I was a dispatcher/calltaker with Toronto Police. I was assigned either a calltaker or dispatch position for that day and each day was different as you could never tell what type of calls you would receive or dispatch. Teamwork was an integral part of this position as details and events were always changing quickly. The hardest part of this job was the shift work and at times working statutory holidays. There is without a doubt, the people that I worked with made my job enjoyable. Since this was a high stressed, fast paced job, working with my coworkers certainly made it more enjoyable since we were all experiencing the same types of emotions, humour, fatigue and ups and downs with the job.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Police officer 9 salaries reported	$100,556 per year
Communications operator 1 salary reported	$84,298 per year
Crime analyst 3 salaries reported	$77,000 per year
Senior advisor 1 salary reported	$136,310 per year

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