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.
