Job Description
A police officer’s work involves 3 main types of activities: crime prevention, investigation and dealing with emergencies. Keep reading to find out more about each of these activities.
Police officers work for municipal, regional, provincial and national police forces.
The following websites explain more about police forces in Quebec:
The work environment and hours of a police officer depend on whether he is carrying out an investigation, working with the community on crime prevention, patrolling an area or dealing with emergencies. Police officers work indoors, outdoors, in offices or in cars.
They are responsible for making sure society is safe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means that they can end up working any hour of the day and during evenings, nights and weekends.
Crime Prevention
You have no doubt seen police officers around your neighbourhood, at the park and at outdoor concerts. Just having a police officer patrol an area often discourages people from breaking the law.
As part of their crime prevention responsibilities, police officers:
As part of their crime prevention responsibilities, police officers:
- patrol public places by car, by horse, on bikes, or on foot
- keep watch over homes, businesses, and public places to make sure nothing suspicious is going on
- enforce speed limits
- stand by during public protests and large gatherings to make sure crowds stay under control
- work with communities to organize information sessions about safety and crime prevention. For example, police in some neighbourhoods have community partnerships that encourage citizens to help prevent crime, like the Block Parent Program and the Neighbourhood Watch Program.
Investigation
'Where were you last Wednesday at 9pm?' Police officers are known for investigating crimes, looking for clues and getting to the bottom of what happened when a crime is committed or an accident occurs. As part of their investigation they:
Sometimes a police officer will go “undercover” to gather evidence for an investigation. The police officer may wear a disguise, or pose as someone else to track people. The police officer may take photographs and keep a journal of what she observed for future reference.
- Gather evidence. For example, police officers will take a gun from a crime scene back to the police station and record it as evidence as they try to piece together what happened.
- Question witnesses who saw a crime or an accident take place. For example, if a driver runs a red light, causing an accident, police may interview witnesses and ask them to describe what they saw.
- Write police reports, such as the details about a stolen car.
- Appear in court during a hearing, to explain to a judge the facts of a crime or an accident.
Sometimes a police officer will go “undercover” to gather evidence for an investigation. The police officer may wear a disguise, or pose as someone else to track people. The police officer may take photographs and keep a journal of what she observed for future reference.
Dealing with Emergencies
Where do police officers work?
Whether it’s a crime, an accident, a natural disaster, or other kind of emergency, police officers are often first on the scene to respond to emergency calls, help victims, give first aid, direct car traffic and arrest suspects when necessary.
Sometimes police officers deal with more dangerous situations that require specialized skills. Depending on their specialization, these officers:
Sometimes police officers deal with more dangerous situations that require specialized skills. Depending on their specialization, these officers:
- handle explosives and deactivate bombs
- subdue gunmen and manage hostage situations
- lrevent suicides by talking people off window ledges
- stop murders
- scuba dive to recover bodies
Police officers work for municipal, regional, provincial and national police forces.
The following websites explain more about police forces in Quebec:
- Quebec’s provincial police force is called La Sûreté du Québec. (in French only)
- Montreal’s police force is called Le Service de police de la ville de Montréal.
- Canada’s national police force is called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP.
The work environment and hours of a police officer depend on whether he is carrying out an investigation, working with the community on crime prevention, patrolling an area or dealing with emergencies. Police officers work indoors, outdoors, in offices or in cars.
They are responsible for making sure society is safe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means that they can end up working any hour of the day and during evenings, nights and weekends.
