As a family of children studying police technology, we are entitled to ask this question: how is it that faced with a shortage of police officers, graduating students in police technology are denied their diploma for various reasons?
Some students who do not pass a single simulation at the end of their technique are awarded a failing grade in a course. Others, who miss the standards by a few meters or a few seconds during the final physical tests, suffer the same fate. Students injured during training and who, despite everything, at the risk of seeing their injury worsen, still take the test and fail, even if during the session they have demonstrated their competence.
No right to a single mistake, no recovery, it’s all or nothing.
We’ll see you again in a year, you’ll take the only course you’re missing, a year’s wait to pick up the few missing points.
The economic stakes are enormous for these students who will have to wait 12 months to complete their technique, in addition to waiting an additional year before being able to enter the National Police Academy. This is a shortfall of approximately $45,000 for these young recruits who do not reach standards that are too rigid and from another era.
How to blame students who decide not to pursue and change their career plan, even though it was a dream and a calling for them? The teachers tell them that they will make very good candidates one day, but not right away… in two years minimum if they decide to wait!
Demotivation
Faced with this rigidity on the part of teachers and program directors, faced with outdated teaching and evaluation methods, faced with the absence of effective teaching methods, one cannot be surprised at the demotivation of certain candidates.
We are not talking here about giving the diploma to just anyone, but rather about using common sense and asking teachers to use and apply their professional judgment, or at least allow a retake for evaluation. missed.
The RCMP has fully understood the issue and is even making representations to police cadets in Quebec. To file an application with the RCMP, students do not need to have graduated in their police techniques. Quebec will therefore lose very good candidates who will go to other Canadian provinces.
We would be very curious to know what the Ministers of Higher Education and Public Security think of it.
While some police force leaders make representations to police technology students, some young people who are ready and dedicated are being denied access for the time being. Police cadets will still have to qualify to enter the National Police School of Quebec.
Following the editorial published in The Press of May 18, it is not only the recruitment of future candidates that must be reviewed, but also the teaching and evaluation methods with the CEGEPs that offer the program so as not to discourage future police officers and allow them to stay in the race!