This article looks at how the Police Foundations offering at Centennial Colleges manages to provide a comprehensive overview of topics essential to policing such as psychology, professional police standards, criminology and more.

1. Police Foundations Offers a Base For Range of Policing Careers
Preparing for any police-related field requires a balance of physical training, professional skills
development and a great deal of psychological knowledge. These professionals, who may work
as police officers, customs officers, security officers, and more have a range of duties. For
example, police officers spend much of their time patrolling cities, neighborhoods and rural
areas to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and apprehend violators. Patrol duties include
crisis intervention, the issuing of traffic tickets, making arrests, and public safety and security
functions such as checking doors and watching for dangerous conditions. Meanwhile, customs
officers make sure laws are enforced at any port of entry — such as borders and airports — into
the country.
The training, however, for all of the police-related fields begins with programs such as
Centennial College’s Police Foundations. The fundamental offering is facilitated from the
school’s largest and most centrally located location, Progress Campus. It is not unusual to see
students wearing uniforms on campus, as they are required to do so. This is part of their
intense training, which mimics a paramilitary environment in order to help students to develop
discipline and deportment.
To take the realistic training a step further, the program is based on real-life experiences and
case studies that incorporate a fundamental perspective on life. Among the specific classes in
which students partake are: Canadian Criminal Justice System (assists student in becoming
familiar with the three agencies of the criminal justice system, how they relate to each other
and how criminal law impacts on all three); Professional Police Standards (introduces students
to the concept of policing standards and self-discipline, which are concepts consistent with all
relevant laws and legislation, professional, organizational and ethical policing standards); Use of
Force (instructs student on the various situations when the use of force may be applied and
gives students an understanding on how to articulate the actions of the applied force); and
many others.
Thanks to their training, students develop specific skills such as: withstanding pressure,
communicating effectively, acting as problem-solvers and helping people in the community. In
addition, they have knowledge of current law enforcement methods, conflict resolution
techniques, criminal proceedings, community policing principles and the experience necessary
to carry out decisions that can be applied in further police training.
It is worth noting that in addition to being prepared to apply for positions with the Provincial
Police Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Armed Forces and more, students may also
continue their education through partnerships that Centennial College has established with a
range of post-secondary institutions. These schools allow students to apply the credits they

2. earn at Centennial College and include: Brock University, Conestoga College, Georgian College,
Griffith University, Humber College, Laurentian University, Royal Roads University and
University of Ontario Institute of Technology.