Deadline approaches for new Policing and Justice Career Orientation Program

May 17, 2012

Whitehorse - The Friday May 25 deadline is fast approaching for Yukoners wishing to explore a career in policing and justice. This brand new two-week orientation program will run from June 4-15 at Yukon College.

It will feature a comprehensive overview of a range of careers beyond front-line policing, including site visits, job shadowing, and employment preparedness activities.

The program will be instructed by Pete Thompson, a professor at the Police and Public Safety Institute at Algonquin College, Ontario. Thompson developed the course with staff at Yukon College.

“There are over 200 different jobs available in law enforcement,” said Thompson. “It’s not all about riding in the patrol car and responding to emergencies. There are civilian jobs, radio dispatchers, crime analysts too.”

Thompson said that students will be exposed to the dynamics of how different law enforcement careers interact, and receive mentorship from people currently working on the front-lines.

Thompson is a former RCMP inspector with 30 years’ experience. He was assigned to Yukon for three separate tours and was stationed in every community, except Haines Junction, between 1976 and 1999.

This program initiative flows from recommendation 5.2 of Sharing Common Ground, the final report of the Review of Yukon’s Police Force. The Council for Yukon First Nations helped fund research and development of this pilot program.

Roseanna Goodman-McDonald, Manager of Justice at CYFN, hopes that women and First Nations citizens in particular will apply to participate in this program.

“We all live here together. If we want to see change, we all have a responsibility to get involved and work towards building safe communities for each other,” said Goodman-McDonald.

“This program provides people with an opportunity to make a difference.”

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Contact:
Michael Vernon
Communications Coordinator
College Relations
Yukon College
867 668 8786
mvernon@yukoncollege.yk.ca
www.yukoncollege.yk.ca


Jacqueline Bedard
Director
College Relations
Yukon College
Phone: 867-456-8619
jbedard@yukoncollege.yk.ca

 

Additional Info:
•The program includes site visits to the RCMP detachment, law building, and Whitehorse Correctional Centre. Participants will have an opportunity to job shadow, and receive help with job readiness, resume and cover letter writing, and participate in mock interviews.
•There are only 20 places available. There is no course fee. Participants will receive a $12 per hour training allowance. Up to 10 places are reserved for students from the communities for whom mileage, accommodations and per diems will be provided. Spaces are given on a first come first served basis.
•If interested, you cannot simply register for this program. You must apply in person at Yukon College Admissions or call the Northern Institute of Social Justice at Yukon College at 456-8589 for more information. To apply you must have grade 10 or higher, be 19 years of age, submit a one page statement describing why you are interested in an RCMP or justice related career, and pass a criminal record check. There is a $20 application fee and a $15 fee for the criminal record check.
•The program is presented by the Northern Institute of Social Justice at Yukon College and was developed in partnership with the Yukon Council of First Nations, RCMP, and Yukon Department of Justice.