THUNDER BAY – There’s no substitute for a hands-on learning experience.
Nearly 80 students in the police foundations program at Confederation College learned that lesson Thursday as they participated simulated crime scene scenarios, ranging from assault to theft to homicide.
Similar to how actual police officers are dispatched to calls with only a limited amount of information, the students did not know in advance about what kind of scene required their response.
Second-year students Duncan Macgillivray and Molly MacDermaid worked together as they were called to a sudden death scene, where they ultimately arrested and charged a suspect with murder.
Aided by volunteers from the social service worker program who served as actors, the policing students interviewed suspects, examined evidence and followed legal procedure for apprehending and arresting suspects.
“Actually getting in there, getting your hands dirty, doing somethings and talking to the officers that were there to evaluate you definitely gives you some feedback of what to improve on,” Macgillivray said.
Macgillivray said he is hoping for a future career working in his hometown of Kenora in either policing or corrections while MacDermaid said she aspires to be an OPP officer.
Program coordinator Rob Lyon said the students learn a lot of procedural knowledge during the two-year program but there is no substitute for practical experience.
“There’s a lot of book learning but when they get the chance to practice it in a sort of safe, real-world setting, they can make mistakes here and walk away from them. This is where you want them to make mistakes,” Lyon said.
Officers from the city police force, OPP and RCMP were on hand to observe the students and evaluate their performance.
A particular focus was how the students conducted themselves when interacting with the other participants.
“We’re looking for how they treat victims, how they treat witnesses and how they treat the accused. Everyone has to be treated with dignity and respect,” Lyon said.
“With the Charter of Rights and Freedoms we want to make sure there are no violations and they apply their powers of arrest properly.”
It’s an exercise that former students who have pursued a law enforcement career have found valuable.
“One of the police officers here evaluating the students is a recent grad from the program so that person has gone full-circle,” Lyon said.
“It’s really neat to see them come back and want to play in this exercise.”
