Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

Chapter 6. Selection of Police Officers
1. This chapter discusses the current screening and selection practices for recruiting
new constables, assessments of candidates for specialized roles within the Service, and
the current capacity constraints and institutional structure of TPS Psychological
Services.
2. The job of policing is nuanced, variable, and complex. It is important to hire new
constables who are best able to meet those complex demands. As set out in Chapter 8
(Supervision), as part of the legislative framework governing police services in Ontario,
it is deliberately made difficult to dismiss, suspend or otherwise discipline police
officers. The legislation is designed to protect the independence of the police officer, as a
holder of a public office. If the TPS wants its officers to exhibit certain traits, such as
empathy, compassion or healthy attitudes toward people with mental illness, it is
important to select for these traits in the hiring process, since some of the ordinary
methods of shaping and correcting the conduct of an organization’s employees are not
available to a police service like the TPS.
I. The Current Situation
A. New constable selection and screening
1. The process for new constable selection
3. The TPS uses the Constable Selection System (CSS), which is a selection standard
licensed from the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) to individual police
services. The purpose of the CSS is to provide a standardized approach to new constable
selection across the province that is fair, objective, and consistent with professional best
practice. The CSS proceeds in three stages: (a) a pre-interview assessment; (b) a
competency interview and completion of a personal history questionnaire; and (c) a postinterview
assessment, including psychological testing and an interview with a police
psychologist.
4. Candidates applying to be a police officer must meet the basic requirements set
out in the Police Services Act: candidates must be a Canadian citizen or permanent
resident of at least 18 years of age, be physically and mentally able to perform the duties
of the position, have successfully completed four years of secondary school, and be of
good moral character and habits. 1 In addition, candidates must have no criminal
convictions, possess a valid driver’s license, possess a valid OACP Certificate, 2 and pass
a security clearance check, background investigation, and credit and reference checks. 3
All of these requirements are assessed before candidates are selected for interviews.
1
Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, s. 43(1) [PSA].
2
This Certificate requires successful testing for physical readiness, analytical thinking, written communication, vision, hearing, and
satisfactory response to scenarios shown in a video simulation.
3
Toronto Police Service, “Frequently Asked Questions” (2014), online: Toronto Police Service
.
Police Encounters With People in Crisis |129