Policing offers plenty of choices
Derek Binnendyk says that since he was young he “had a real sense of truth and justice and a desire to help people.”
Today the 28-year-old is an Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and ready to take on his first assignment. “It took a long time to commit to choosing the path,” says the Red Deer native. “I used to be in retail. But the RCMP has such a long and rich history and I knew I could learn a lot. And there are so many things you can do across Canada or even around the world.”
Stephanie Ashton, a corporal with the RCMP in Vancouver, is the perfect case in point. She applied to the RCMP after being a broadcast journalist covering the police beat. Now 16 years into her policing career, she says she has had eight different jobs.
“I’ve done police work on the road, been a school liaison officer, worked in sex crimes, domestic crimes and youth policing, and also major crimes,” says the team leader, proactive recruiting, for the Pacific Region, B.C. and Yukon.
She has even had time to complete an undergraduate degree and has entered a master’s degree program which is partially funded by the force. “It’s great because you can work full time and go to school if you want to. And there is such a variety of jobs.”
In all there are 150 official careers in the RCMP, from traffic analysis, municipal contract policing and integrated border integrity to forensics, emergency response, operational readiness and deportment. After the initial three years of assigned service the opportunities grow, since officers can then apply to work internationally at embassies or on UN missions.
Ashton reports that the hiring process is both long and challenging, but worth the effort. “On average it takes about a year to go through the recruiting and it’s quite competitive. Usually nine or 10 out of every 100 people who write the exam will get in.”
Candidates also have to go through extensive evaluations, ranging from physical fitness and behavioural assessments to psychometric and polygraph testing to verify application submission information. Security clearance checks are also conducted.
Basic requirements include Canadian citizenship, bilingualism, and a secondary school diploma or equivalent. You also have to be willing to relocate anywhere in Canada and have a valid Canadian driver’s license. Minimum age for applying is 18. All cadets go to the RCMP Academy, Depot Division in Regina for six months.