wana be a cop, Toronto Police VS OPP?

[tankz]

I may consider becoming a cop, but what are some of the advantages/disadvantages between Toronto Police VS OPP...all i kno thus far is that OPP get's to travel more within Ontario...since they have to cover areas where there are no police service (eg. rural areas...) but i believe they have similar salary.

[UrbanPoet]

OPP seems much more relaxing... but itll get boring. I heard stories of some RCMP officers that thought they were all big and bad b/c they were associated with the mounted police.... But in reality he just sat around in a cabin an hour away from some town called "timmins" twidling their thumbss while waiting for action to happen...

action = domestic disturbance from some red necks.

[Shaner]

They are very similar, except for the fact that OPP covers a lot of rural areas, and Metro covers the city of Toronto and that's it.

In Metro, unless you're part of the traffic division, you likely won't be doing much traffic work. With OPP, you'll do a lot of speed traps, seatbelt blitzes, ride programs, etc. With metro, you'll likely spend almost all of your time responding to calls. There won't be much down time, not at all. There will always be calls to respond to and you will always be busy.

Have you completed your ATS testing? Do you have your first aid and CPR? Do you have a college or university diploma? What program?

You can't just decide that you're going to work for Metro and not OPP, or vice versa. It's extremely hard to get into policing, so if I were you, I would apply to both and go with whichever one hires you, if at all.

Besides, if you're just "thinking about it" at this point, they won't hire you. When they sit you down and interview you, it'll come out that you're not 100% dedicated to doing the job, and they'll cut you from the selection process.

Policing isn't just a job, it's your life. Once you're hired, you're a cop, that is who you are. You don't work as a cop, you ARE a cop!

[Shaner]

OPP seems much more relaxing... but itll get boring. I heard stories of some RCMP officers that thought they were all big and bad b/c they were associated with the mounted police.... But in reality he just sat around in a cabin an hour away from some town called "timmins" twidling their thumbss while waiting for action to happen...

action = domestic disturbance from some red necks.

Some RCMP get big heads, but so do cops from other forces. It's the uniform that does it. Some Correctional Officers have the same problem, the uniform changes them. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

the RCMP doesn't police Ontario though. They do investigative work, but that's it. The OPP police Timmins and all surrounding areas.

[PrinceMS]

They do investigative work.

Like batman? :p

[Shaner]

Like batman? :p

Sure...
If that's how you want to think about it, then sure.
Although Batman didn't really investigate things, he just kicked arse all the time.

[that_staples_guy]

I beleive that you have to know French to be in the OPP, I could be mistaking that for the RCMP.

[Shaner]

I beleive that you have to know French to be in the OPP, I could be mistaking that for the RCMP.

Here's OPP's hiring requirements

* Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
* Female Recruit 18-65 years of age.
* Ontario Grade 12 or equivalency.
* Class ‘G’ driver’s license with:
o No more than 6 demerit points; and
o Full driving privileges.
* No criminal record for which a pardon has not been received or an absolute/conditional discharge that has not been sealed.
* Certified in First-Aid and C.P.R.
* Pass credit, background and investigation checks.
* Possess a valid Certificate of Results (C.O.R.). (more information on how to obtain your C.O.R.)

O.P.P. applicants must be willing to serve anywhere in the province. Preferences for posting are taken into consideration


Here's RCMP's

# be a Canadian Citizen
# be of good character
# be proficient in English or French
# have a Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent
# possess a valid, unrestricted Canadian driver’s license
# be 19 years of age at the time of engagement (may apply at 18 years of age
# meet medical/health standards
# be willing to relocate anywhere in Canada
# be physically fit


So there you have it. You don't need to know English or French for either. You have to know English for OPP and English or French for RCMP (although without English skills, you won't get hired by the RCMP).

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

Toronto cop = exciting, awesome but dangerous

OPP cop = boring, stale but safe.

If you want to sit in country roads up north giving tickets to speeding rig trucks try OPP, but if you want to have a Beverly Hills cop-like adventure go for Toronto cop.

[fanaticalLEAFfan]

Toronto cop = exciting, awesome but dangerous

OPP cop = boring, stale but safe.

If you want to sit in country roads up north giving tickets to speeding rig trucks try OPP, but if you want to have a Beverly Hills cop-like adventure go for Toronto cop.

Did you know that the last few cops to be killed in Ontario were OPP officers? One was in Cobourg and another was along the 401 somewhere near Durham.

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

Did you know that the last few cops to be killed in Ontario were OPP officers? One was in Cobourg and another was along the 401 somewhere near Durham.

Yeah and guess who shot them? Toronto citizens.

[fanaticalLEAFfan]

Yeah and guess who shot them? Toronto citizens.

Actually, that's not true. The last two cops killed in Ontario were not killed in Toronto or by anyone who lives in Toronto.
The OPP officer killed in Cobourg was killed by a teenager who is from Cobourg. I know because I have a friend who lives in Cobourg and I remember reading all about it.

The other was killed in a high speed chase. He was riding a motorcycle and chasing someone who was in a car. That person wasn't from Toronto either.

Reagrdless of the above, I do agree with you for the most part. It is more dangerous to be a cop in Toronto, but believe it or not, OPP officers are more likely to be killed in the line of duty than metro. I can only assume that the reason for that is because the OPP don't have as much backup as Metro. Who knows though.

[tkl]

I may consider becoming a cop, but what are some of the advantages/disadvantages between Toronto Police VS OPP...all i kno thus far is that OPP get's to travel more within Ontario...since they have to cover areas where there are no police service (eg. rural areas...) but i believe they have similar salary.

Toronto Police is the busiest service by far in the city. You deal with a lot more *******s than you would in another service. You get ALL kinds of calls that the OPP would rarely come across or deal with. Some of the OPP sends their officers to Toronto for refreshers and/or training. They realize quick how much sloooower the pace is back "home". If you want action and the city council/mayor NOT to be on your side, by all means come to Toronto. You will always get back up, their dispatchers are top notch and you're in good hands.

OPP - Not even close in terms of being busy. Cow tipping is a call up there (so is York Region , actually). You may get one gun call a month for the entire shift as oppose to easily 10-15 a day in Toronto. You may be bored silly if you like being where the action is. Getting a back up for you call may be harder to come by the large empty areas that are being covered, unless you are in the GTA (all 400 series highway) where their dispatchers will call Toronto to send for back up for calls if one is not close by to you.

So it depends on what kind of Policing you want to do. The pay is pretty much the same although Toronto should be highest paid by far and everybody else should follow them.

[JimG]

You only need your Grade 12 to be a cop? Isn't there some kind of atleast college program that should be required; where you'd take courses in criminology, psychology, basic sciences and stuff?

[dmatthew]

maybe they teach that stuff in training as well? hehe