Police Foundations
Location:
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Co-ordinator:
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Peterborough
Accepting applications
PF
Ontario College Diploma
September 2, 2008
$1,568.00 per semester *
* Tuition and fees subject to change.
- Program Information
- Program Curriculum
- Course Descriptions
Serving and protecting has never been so demanding -- or so rewarding! By choosing a career in Police Services, you are making a decision to work with and for a wide diversity of individuals and communities. You will rely on your well-rounded education and background in not just law enforcement, but critical interpersonal and team-building skills. Today's police services personnel must be able to keep up with the pace of societal change, keeping in mind integrity, honesty, enthusiasm, and personal wellness.
Program Highlights
You will develop the skills necessary to deal with the clearly defined and grey situations police officers deal within the course of every day work. While you pursue courses in law and justice to assist in the protection process, you'll also be spending significant time developing your "soft" people skills -- in courses on communications, issues in diversity, psychology, ethics, and sociology. Expect to grow as a person, and maximize your potential.
Are you a university graduate? You are eligible for direct entry into second year of the program. Start in September and you can graduate with your Police Foundations diploma in just two semesters. Contact the program co-ordinator for details.
Word from the Workplace
"Fleming's Police Foundation program offered courses that were valuable to me in preparing to become a police officer. The program starts with a broad overview of what policing is all about, and slowly moves you towards your last semester, with real-life experiences on your work placement. In addition, the faculty provided important information on how to apply to the police service."
Constable Craig Ralph, Program Graduate
Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service
Why Choose Fleming?
In the Police Foundations program, extraordinarily committed and experienced faculty care about each and every student, and actively advocate for their success. We can offer fantastic placement opportunities for experiential learning and the program enjoys the unqualified support of area police services organizations. In short, Fleming College has raised the bar for a new breed of police officer who is educated, skilled, and well-rounded -- able to take on any challenge. Fleming's Police Foundations program is known for its excellent reputation and high graduate success rate.
Common First Semester
Students within the School of Law and Justice diploma programs take the same courses for their first semester after choosing and being accepted into one of our programs. This common focus exposes you to a variety of career options and other programs, while you acquire a base of knowledge and fundamental skills. It also enables you to change direction if you find another program or career area is more appealing. You can enter that program in semester two, provided that you have achieved academic success in first semester, and subject to enrolment capacity.
Aboriginal Emphasis
Fleming's Aboriginal Emphasis curriculum offers students the option to take courses designed from an aboriginal perspective with the learning environment based on Native culture, traditions, languages and spirituality. Students will acquire knowledge and greater awareness of the historical and contemporary issues facing Aboriginal societies, broadening their employment opportunities and contributing to personal growth and development.
Work Experience
The placement experience really does set Fleming apart from other police programs at the college level. Due to our close associations and partnerships with police services in the surrounding area, you will have an opportunity to take advantage of a wide variety of placements and practicum experiences. To be eligible for consideration for the placement experience, you must have successfully completed all semester one and two courses by the time you enter the third semester of the program. Continued success in the third and fourth semesters is necessary to maintain your eligiblilty for field placement. Any breach of academic integrity will result in loss of field placement.
NOTE: Practical experience will be subject to clearance check by the police service. Field Placement may extend beyond the 15-week semester, depending on the experience you choose and the preference of the police service placement.
What it Takes to Succeed
- interpersonal skills
- sensitivity to diversity of human experience
- a sense of empathy
- ability to exercise sound judgement
- open-mindedness
- problem-solving skills
- excellent discernment -- the ability to navigate your way through complex and frequently "grey" situations or crises
A balanced approach to personal well-being and health is essential, as both the career and the program are quite challenging both mentally and physically. If a career as a police officer is your goal, we strongly urge you to check the qualifications required to ensure that you are eligible, before committing yourself to the Police Foundations program. These requirements are available at the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services website under the Constable Selection System. Pay particular attention to the physical requirements, including vision and hearing. Answers to questions regarding criminal records that affect qualifications to apply are also available on this website. In addition, students would benefit by having basic computer skills including e-mail, word processing, file management and internet web browsing.
Career Opportunities
Graduates from this program hold the following positions:
- police officer
- canine unit officer
- traffic collision investigator
- criminal investigator
- forensic investigator
- tactical team member
- public/media relations officer
- youth bureau officer
- drug enforcement team
- military police
- supervisor
Expect to start off earning a salary in the $30,000.00 to $35,000.00 range.
Minimum Admission Requirements
OSSD with the majority of credits at the College (C) and Open (O) level, including:
- 2 College (C) English courses (Grade 11 or Grade 12)
When (C) is the minimum course level for admission, (U) or (U/C) courses are also accepted.
Mature Students
If you are 19 years of age or older before classes start, and you do not possess an OSSD, you can write the Canadian Adult Achievement Test to assess your eligibility for admission.
*Students starting in January are required to attend classes over the summer semester.
Selection Process
Related Programs
Interested in related law enforcement or community service careers? You might also want to consider programs such as Security and Risk Management, Customs, Court and Tribunal Agent, or Computer Security and Investigations.
Additional Costs
You should expect to spend around $740 per year for books and supplies.
University Transfer Agreements
Semester 1
Aboriginal Justice
Course Number: LAWS085
In this course students will identify and examine issues related to Aboriginal Justice in Canada. Specifically, students will focus on the relationship between the Canadian Justice system and Aboriginal Peoples. Historical and contemporary events will be examined to increase understanding of Aboriginal issues. Students will explore alternative justice, and other possible strategies to address the identified problems. Cultural practices and beliefs will also be discussed.
Units: 14.00
Hours: 14.00
Career Awareness
Course Number: SOCI122
This introductory course develops a set of generic skills, that support studies at a post-secondary level and provide a foundation for the student's career success.
Units: 14.00
Hours: 14.00
Careers in Policing
Course Number: SOCI136
This course is designed to introduce students to the roles and responsibilities integral to the practice of the police profession. Particular emphasis will be placed on professional conduct, competencies and strategies for success in the field.
Units: 7.00
Hours: 7.00
Communications for Law and Justice
Course Number: COMM080
This course focuses on improving reading, writing, and oral communication skills through a number of assignments related to the law and justice professions. This course stresses the development of communiction skills that will allow students to meet the learning outcomes demanded by the assignments in this course, in other subjects, and for eventual career employment. Students will demonstrate skills in summary and report writing, oral presentations, standard usage of English, as well as in research techniques, including appropriate citation and documentation of sources. The principles of style, structure, content, and mechanics constitute the overall framework of the course.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Intro to Political Science & Public Administration
Course Number: LAWS043
This course provides an introduction to the democratic system of governance in Canada. It includes a description of the organization, structure, interaction, and administration of the three (3) levels of government. The course will introduce and identify the daily problems and issues faced by Canadians in a political context, including public opinion and special interest groups. Major themes explored include a brief introduction to political beliefs and values, an examination of cleavages within the Canadian population, the Canadian constitution, nationalism, and political culture and spectrum. These concepts will be examined in the current forum of the daily politics that unfold during the course. Students will begin to develop research writing skills and group discussion skills. This course is a hybrid course comprised of webct and seminar components.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Introduction to Canadian Justice System
Course Number: LAWS044
This course provides an introductory overview of the Canadian Justice System, with special emphasis on the criminal justice system and the responsibilities of enforcement personnel. Contemporary issues affecting the system will be analyzed and discussed.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Introduction to Psychology
Course Number: SOCI036
This course offers a systematic approach to exploring human behaviour. The concepts and empirical findings are examined using a variety of theoretical approaches. Major topics include perception, motivation, learning, memory, intelligence, and personality.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Introductory Computing
Course Number: COMP345
Working in the Windows XP environment, this computer course introduces the student to computer basics (computer terminology, e-mail, Internet, file management) and the application and use of word processing, spreadsheet, and database software. Through the extensive use of hands-on activities, students will gain sufficient knowledge and experience to make productive use of computers as a tool in both college and workplace environments.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Sociology for Law and Justice
Course Number: SOCI123
Through this course, learn the special meanings that Sociology, as a language, assigns to words and how they are organized into concepts and theories. We use these words, concepts and theories to see and make sense of our social world and to talk with others about it, develop the ability to understand our social interactions, the society we create and recreate and how it affects us. Your success will depend very much on your ability in English, ability to send and receive e-mail, use a web browser, engage in discussions in bulletin boards, and other standard operations using a computer.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Semester 2
Communicating at Work
Course Number: COMM002
This course will enable you to continue to improve your general communication skills to meet the learning outcomes demanded by the assignments in this course, as well as the expectations of other subjects and eventual career employment. This course emphasizes concepts of critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they apply to processes fundamental to effective communication. You will continue to reinforce speaking, writing, reading, and listening techniques common to the expectations demanded by the work place of your career choice by applying, at a more sophisticated level, principles of style, structure, mechanics and techniques (for orals).
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Community Policing
Course Number: LAWS008
This course will allow students to apply and demonstrate crime prevention, problem oriented policing strategies and apply elements of volunteerism. Students will be able to assess a community problem and develop, implement and evaluate results to resolve a community problem. Students will also explore the relationship between community policing and police complaints. Students will be exposed to the mental and physical elements required to handle every day crisis.
Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00
Community Service Agencies
Course Number: SOCI011
This course will explore the community service agencies that operate within or in conjunction with the criminal justice system. The main emphasis will be on the working relationships between the agencies and the police services.
Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00
Contemporary Social Issues
Course Number: LAWS012
This course will introduce and explore contemporary social issues using comprehensive social science paradigms and provocative examples. Critical inquiry will incorporate the social, political, historical and economic framework of various social problems as they are understood and experienced in Canadian society.Personal experiences will be associated with the broader cultural landscape. The course will provide students with current knowledge and skills that are practical in application and readily portable. Note: Demonstrated success in Sociology as a Second Language (SOCI 60) will assist you with the specialized vocabulary as will the text, Sociology In Our Times, 2nd Canadian Edition.
Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00
Fitness and Lifestyle Management I
Course Number: RECR003
Society has come to recognize that physical fitness and wellness is essential to the enhanced quality of life. This course introduces the student to the concepts of physical fitness and provides the means to become fit and develop a healthy lifestyle. Students through practical experience will address the various components of fitness. The student will engage in an effective fitness program and develop strategies to be successful at the various police services fitness standards.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Issues in Diversity
Course Number: SOCI038
In this course students will critically identify and examine issues in diversity. Specifically, students will focus on topics pertaining to inequality in various social settings, including but not limited to: race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Incorporating social/legal explanations of diversity, students will develop a clear understanding of the impacted groups and possible strategies of community empowerment.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Semester 3
Civil Law
Course Number: LAWS006
This course will acquaint students with certain areas of civil law, with particular emphasis on those areas with which police officers have contact. Specifically, the course will provide an overview of the following topics: contracts, torts, human rights, residential tenancies, and family law.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Conflict Management
Course Number: LAWS009
Co-requisites
This course is designed to foster confidence and competence when dealing with people in crisis, where the potential exists for conflict. The processes of intervention and mediation require an understanding of the dynamics of all of the actors participating. It is also imperative that students understand that personal biases, attitudes, and comfort level with emotional reactions will determine perception and interpretation of a situation. These emotional reactions will be their own as well as those of the other actors in the situation.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Criminal Code
Course Number: LAWS016
This course focuses on offences contained in the Criminal Code of Canada. These include offences against the person, property, and public order. Students will research case law and assess its impact on criminal offences.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Fitness/Lifestyle Management II
Course Number: RECR011
Pre-requisites
Society has come to recognize that personal and collective wellness is essential to the enhanced quality of life. This course concentrates on the concepts of wellness and provides practical strategies for developing a healthy lifestyle. The student will develop strategies to develop and design and implement an effective personal fitness program and develop strategies to be successful at the Ontario Police Standards.
Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00
Interpersonal/Group Dynamics
Course Number: SOCI029
In this introductory level course, students learn to apply knowledge from interpersonal relations and group dynamics to working in a team. Emphasis will be placed on utilizing effective communication skills with individuals and groups. Group cohesiveness and effective group decision making will be discussed.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Interviewing and Investigation
Course Number: LAWS042
This course focuses on interviewing and investigation skills. Students will develop interviewing skills and investigation skills. Students will develop interviewing skills necessary to retrieve information from incident participants including victims, witnesses and suspects. Students will also learn basic investigation skills including observation, analysis, evidence identification, collection and preservation, as well as note taking skills.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Police Powers
Course Number: LAWS064
This course examines pertinent sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and their impact on the Canadian criminal procedure. Citizen and police arrest and release authorities, police powers of search and seizure with and without a warrant, police discretion and its implications will be discussed. This course will enable students to become familiar with police terminology and apply the procedures required to affect arrest and release.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Semester 4
Criminology
Course Number: LAWS018
Our concern about crime and frustration over criminals are major issues that command our attention. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field that helps us understand and take action. Historically, it has offered many explanations that have influenced our reactions to and social policy toward crime and criminals. This course will consist of three main parts: definitions and measurement of crime, theories of crime, crime and society.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Evidence and Investigation
Course Number: LAWS030
Pre-requisites
Collection and presentation of evidence is an important part of the litigation process.In this course, learners will examine the use of evidence in court cases, including statutory and common-law limits on the use of various forms of information that could affect the decision-making process of Canadian courts and administrative tribunals. Learners will examine the functions of investigators, advocates, judges, and juries in the presentation and processing of evidence.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Federal/Provincial Statutes
Course Number: LAWS032
In this course, students will interpret and apply federal and provicial statutes. They will interpret elements of offences related to the statutes. Federal statutes examined will be: the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Child and Family Services Act, and the Blind Persons Rights Act. Provincial statutes examined will be: the Provincial Offences Act, the Mental Health Act, the Liquor License Act, the Coroners Act and the Trespass to Property Act.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Field Placement
Course Number: FLPL029
Field placement is approximately 100 hours at the completion of the fourth semester that will present the student with the opportunity to put into practice the skills and theory learned in the classroom and observe police related assignment duties. Students must pass a three panel interview for Field Placement.
Units: 105.00
Hours: 105.00
Field Placement Preparation
Course Number: FLPL045
Co-requisites
Field placement is approximately 100 hours at the completion of the fourth semester that will present the student with the opportunity to put into practice the skills and theory learned in the classroom and observe police related assignment duties.Pre-requisites: Successful completion of all Police Foundations academic courses. Students must pass a 3 panel interview for Field Placement.
Units: 15.00
Hours: 15.00
Fitness Lifestyle Management III
Course Number: RECR009
Pre-requisites
Society has come to recognize that personal and collective wellness is essential to the enhanced quality of life. This course concentrates on the concepts of wellness and provides practical strategies for developing a healthy lifestyle. The student will develop strategies to develop and design and implement an effective personal fitness program and develop strategies to be successful at the Ontario Police Standards.
Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00
Principles of Ethical Reasoning
Course Number: SOCI050
This course focuses on ethical issues faced by individuals as citizens and professionals. It will help students to clarify their values and establish a framework for ethical decision making. Ethical issues that relate to a wide variety of concerns will be examined. Students will also examine a variety of professional ethical codes and apply ethical decision-making models to dilemmas in their personal and professional lives.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Traffic Management
Course Number: LAWS079
In this course, students will develop the knowledge, skills, and ability to locate and apply sections of the Provincial Traffic Laws, regulations, and selected Criminal Code offences.
Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00
Youth in Conflict with the Law
Course Number: LAWS083
In light of the Young Offenders Act (1982) and other relevant statutes, this course provides historical, philosophical, and contemporary applications affecting youth in conflict with the law. The course examines and analyzes the aspects of prevention, detention, interviewing, court processes, and disposition alternatives that may be used to aid and rehabilitate young offenders while facilitating public safety and victim response.
Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00