Police Foundations

Thinking about a career in policing, but want to see the whole justice picture first? Police Foundations is a two-year Ontario College Diploma, delivered in four semesters at Cambrian College in Sudbury, that builds the legal knowledge, fitness and communication skills that police and community safety employers test for.

Semester one covers Foundations of the Law, Private Policing Fundamentals, Careers in Community Safety, Principles of Psychology, Social Consciousness and Justice Fitness I. Semester two adds Communication for Public Safety, Transforming Youth Justice, Private Investigation, Provincial Offences and Path to a Resilient Mindset. In semester three you study Indigenous Perspectives in Law, Risk, Reintegration and Safety, Community Engagement, Tactical Communication and Criminological Thinking. The final semester brings Criminal Code, Tactical Safety and Defense, Traffic Management, Crime Scene Investigation and Empathy Based Intervention, with Justice Fitness running through all four semesters.

Physical training is built into every term of Cambrian’s Police Foundations programme so that you arrive ready for police and justice services fitness testing. Students earn certification in suicide alertness through safeTALK training, and Private Policing Fundamentals and Private Investigation prepare you for the Security Guard and Private Investigator licences. In the last semester the Community Leaders Capstone places you in a work-integrated learning project with community partners that strengthens your portfolio. Graduates may continue at a college or university and receive credit for prior study.

Graduates pursue careers with municipal, provincial, Indigenous and federal police services, correctional services, customs, military police, private investigation firms, private security and municipal by-law enforcement. The programme suits disciplined, physically active people with sound judgement who can stay calm under pressure and want to serve their community.