The Ontario Police College
Overview
The Ontario Police College is a leader in police training. We are committed to the continuous pursuit of business excellence while creating unique and innovative learning opportunities for new and seasoned police officers.
Our classes are designed to support and ensure the delivery of police services that meet the needs of Ontario's diverse communities.
We provide training to hired police officers, and do not offer training to members of the general public. This means individuals cannot apply directly to the college for training. To become a police officer, please apply to your local police service.
Mission, vision and values
Mission statement
We advance the safety of Ontario’s diverse communities by setting evidence-based standards for police training, education and assessment of learning.
Vision statement
The police training provider of choice.
Values
Integrity
Integrity guides people to exemplify high ethical and moral behaviour.
Accountability
We are committed to responsibly managing the public resources entrusted to us through the practice of risk-management and acknowledge accountability for our stewardship.
- We are responsible for our actions and are accountable for all we do.
- We reduce our carbon footprint and use “green technology” to deliver training and education wherever possible.
- We mitigate risk to our stakeholders, to ensure the safety of all.
Diversity
We value a diverse, respectful and inclusive workplace.
- We value our similarities and differences, recognizing there is strength in all.
- We act in accordance with principles of honour, policies and law.
- People are treated with respect and consideration.
Empowerment
We value our staff as our most important resource.
- We encourage the contributions of all in a climate of openness, trust, mutual respect, and shared decision-making.
- We commit the necessary resources to staff training that is timely, specific to the needs and relevant to the job requirements.
- We employ effective and efficient human resource management to support our employees to become their best.
Professionalism
We are committed to upholding the highest standards of professional integrity.
- We live and practice our code of honour — Integrity, Knowledge and Courage.
- We embrace self-improvement to enhance our knowledge, skills and abilities.
- We are proud members of the Ontario Public Service and value ourselves as a centre of excellence.
Knowledge
Knowledge must be a life-long quest to better serve our diverse communities. Sharing knowledge results in confident decisions and competent actions.
Innovation
We encourage innovation in the delivery of training and education courses and programs, supported by high quality applied research.
- We pledge the validity, reliability and defensibility of our courses.
- Our courses will deliver the most current content available in compliance with ministry regulations and best practice models.
- We use a blended-learning approach to provide an innovative learning environment for our stakeholders.
Partnership
We value our stakeholders and seek out new partners to achieve our mission through strategic interaction and collaboration.
- We monitor issues and trends in policing and changes in law to provide best practice models for our stakeholders.
- We model excellence in policing to our stakeholders through successful strategic and business planning execution.
- We are proactive in dealing with issues that may affect our positive relationship with our stakeholders.
Courage
Courage is the inner strength that enables a person to do what is right and commit themselves to a higher standard of personal conduct.
Communication
We commit to open and honest communication with our stakeholders.
- Communication with our stakeholders will be direct, sincere and respectful.
- Communication with our stakeholders will be conducted in a timely fashion.
- Communication technology will be continuously reviewed for improvements that will assist us to meet stakeholder needs.
Leadership
We demonstrate the dignity of our profession by conducting ourselves honourably while assuring the worth of others.
- We are loyal and faithful to our mission.
- We demonstrate our commitment to our stakeholders, through honesty, trust and respect.
- We are devoted to justice incorporating ethical and moral behaviour.
History of the College
In the early 1950s, a group from the Chief Constables’ Association, later the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, developed a plan to establish a centralized police training college in Ontario. In 1959, an advisory committee on police training was appointed and the search began for an ideal location for this new facility.
An Elgin County politician, Ron McNeil, suggested the decommissioned Royal Canadian Air Force Station Aylmer as a potential site for the new Ontario Police College (OPC). During World War II, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Aylmer served as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, housing flying instructors, trainee pilots, and ground crew from all over the world. Situated on 121.5 hectares of land, the base had facilities such as barracks, hangers, a drill hall, and a series of runways that could be repurposed for police training. The history of the property and facilities remains an important part of the OPC. A memorial to the servicemen and women of RCAF Station Aylmer, featuring a restored wind tee from the base, stands at the front entrance to the College.
The first two classes of the new Ontario Police College commenced January 7, 1963 with 64 recruits representing police services from all over Ontario. While the College began training only new recruits, it eventually expanded to running specialty courses for senior officers. As demand for training increased, the OPC outgrew the original RCAF buildings. In 1975, the College began a $28 million expansion, which included construction of living accommodations for over 500 students and instructors, a dining hall, new classrooms and auditoriums, a forensic laboratory, a library, improved physical fitness facilities, both indoor and outdoor firing ranges, and three kilometres of driver training track.
Now, the OPC is one of the largest police training facilities in North America with over 8,000 recruits, police officers, and civilian personnel attending each year.
Path of Honour
In November 2005, Ric Wellwood, the Fundraising/Communications Coordinator for the Catfish Creek Conservation Authority (CCCA), approached the Ontario Police College (OPC) with a very unique proposal. He suggested a partnership between the CCCA and OPC to create a living memorial to fallen police officers — a Path of Honour — on the campus of the College. The design for this memorial involved creating over a kilometre of paths running through the campus. The path would be lined with trees, one for each fallen officer in Ontario. In the spring of 2007, a large group of volunteers planted 220 sugar maple saplings along the Path of Honour.
The Ontario Police College maintains the Path of Honour as a living symbol of the sacrifices officers have made for their communities. This memorial is not intended to diminish the importance of the Ontario Police Memorial at Queen’s Park in Toronto, instead, The Path of Honour is a further reminder of the human cost of policing.
Contact us
Ontario Police College
10716 Hacienda Road
Aylmer West, Ontario
N5H 2R3
GPS
10716 Hacienda Road
Springfield, Ontario
N0L 2J0