Volunteer

You can help keep our community safe. Become an important part of a unique organization: become a police volunteer. An experience you'll never forget!

The Ottawa Police Service believes in community policing—solving community problems with the assistance of community members.

Community Police Centres rely heavily on trained volunteers. Most of our volunteers assist at Centres in their neighbourhoods. They answer questions and may also run crime prevention programs.

If there are no positions posted at the time of your inquiry, it simply means we currently have no openings.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Ottawa Police Service.

Becoming a police volunteer

Volunteers must be a minimum of 18 years of age, have no police record and be available to commit a minimum of four hours per week for a minimum of one year. The screening process includes an interview with the supervising officer, a reference check, and a background check performed by our organization at no cost to the applicant.

You can get involved as a prospective volunteer with the Ottawa Police Service by applying online for specific vacant volunteer opportunities.

Selection process

We screen and select volunteers based on the essential requirements of each specific volunteer assignment. When you complete your volunteer application, you will see that we are serious about the individuals we select to represent the Ottawa Police Service.

Background and reference checks

Your application will go through a thorough background and reference check, which can take several weeks. If no findings give us reason to question your suitability for the volunteer assignment, an officer will begin the process of ing your character references.

Depending on the background investigator's shift schedule and availability, as well as the availability of your character references, this phase of our screening process for volunteer applicants can sometimes take several months, or it can be completed in a few weeks.

Please remember that there are many applications in this screening and selection process at any given time, and our officers handle applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.

The investigating officer will recommend proceeding with your application based on the background and reference checks. If this decision is favourable, you will be ed for an interview.

Security and identification

Should you both agree after the interview to continue the process, you will be invited, in writing, to attend one of our facilities for fingerprinting and to obtain identification.

Identification tags must remain at the site of your placement and be worn while on duty.

Training

You will receive your personal copy of the "Quick Reference Guide" of Ottawa Police volunteer policies and procedures when you begin your training at your site.

Auxiliary member talking to a resident at a community event

Looking to serve your community? Join our volunteer Auxiliary Police team!

The Auxiliary Police Program is a volunteer program intended to enhance community-based policing by allowing citizens to participate and volunteer with police.

Find out more...

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