Trying to Decide

[cophopeful]

Hi,
I am presently trying to decide if I should apply to the RCMP or the VPD. I have been weighing the pro's and con's of both and have one outstanding question which I hoped someone on here may be able to help answer.
The question is:
Which force would provide the most opportunity to specialize. (Specifically, I would love to work homicide but I'm also interested in sex crimes.)

Any insight into which force holds the most prospect for career advancement is greatly appreciated.

[Jayce]

Hi fellow applicant!

I gather from the manner in which you ask the question that you might not be aware of just how competitive the process is. You should apply to both!! Unless you ok with a couple of deferrels. You may perhaps be an outstanding candidate...far surpassing several hundred others..more probable though is that you are pontentially a very good candidate...you just need to get all your ducks in order and increase your appeal...second langauge,leadership skills,degree..etc...

The RCMP, obviously by shere numbers, has pontentially more opportunity, but that comes at a cost. You must be willing to move whenever AND wherever they wish...family and all. Many are not keen on the idea of living in Old Crow Yukon for example.

The VDP also will give an instant look into urban policing that you MAY not get with the RCMP for a while.

Here at blueline.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3677


we have been discussing this at length...check it out and best of luck to you!


Jayce

[YC]

Let the force decide. It really depends. If you speak to an RCMP officer, they would say they offer the best opportunities which I agree. But if you speak to a Vancouver police officer, they would probably say the same thing.

The bottom line is, do they want you and are you competitive enough? I can't say for them. But you really have to know what type of policing you want coz they differ in many ways!

To me, to get into one of them is the best way to figure out!

[Marcus]

In the end it is going to depend on what you do where ever you actually end up.

But here is another way to look at things -

Vancouver PD or Larger RCMP Deatchment = basically being a first responder, you definitely hand off anything good you get file wise. You just don't get a lot of hands on experience you would elsewhere as they have every section going that will do the work for you from big to even little stuff. It will ofcourse happen but it will take a LOT of time.

Small RCMP Detachment - You do it all from beginning to end of your file so lots of hands on experience. Only drawback here would be that in most small detachments you don't see much action, so your hands on experience can be fairly limited in types and quantity of files.

Medium RCMP Detachment - Like smaller detachments you do it all from beginning to end of your file so tons of hands on experience. The bonus here is that with most medium sized detachments they are busier so you will be exposed to all types of files and a much larger quanity of them. With this kind of experience under your belt, if you do well, it would be very beneficial and there would be more opportunity for advancement with transfer.