Commissioned Police Officers

(NOC 0431)

in All Management

Commissioned police officers oversee police force administration and police activities like maintaining law and order and detecting and preventing crime. They work for municipal, provincial and federal governments. This group includes officers from the rank of staff sergeant to police commissioner. Commissioned officers in the railway police are also included in this group.

Job Outlook

Undetermined

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  • Estimate change in employment not available for this occupation.
  • Estimate 0 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
  • Estimate rate of unemployment not available for this occupation.

Compared to: All Management

  • Estimate 2445 employment change, 2021-2023
  • Estimate 5900 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
  • Estimate rate of unemployment not available for these occupation.

Hourly Pay

N/A

Minimum

N/A

Median

N/A

Maximum

Annual Pay

N/A

Minimum

N/A

Median

N/A

Maximum

Compared to: All Management

Hourly Pay

$22.50

Minimum

$43.80

Median

$66.20

Maximum

Annual Pay

$10,632

Minimum

$55,002

Median

$124,014

Maximum

About the job

Nature of work

Commissioned police officers oversee police force administration and police activities like maintaining law and order and detecting and preventing crime. They work for municipal, provincial and federal governments. This group includes officers from the rank of staff sergeant to police commissioner. Commissioned officers in the railway police are also included in this group.

Job duties

Commissioned police officers:

  • Manage the activities of a police force or division of a police force.
  • Develop and implement police force policies and procedures.
  • Manage police investigations and make sure that procedures are done following laws and regulations.
  • Evaluate the performance of subordinates and approve promotions, transfers and disciplinary actions.
  • Coordinate and monitor budget and departmental resources.

Sample job titles

  • chief superintendent
  • deputy police chief
  • harbour police chief
  • police chief
  • police lieutenant
  • police superintendent
  • railway police chief
  • RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) commissioner
  • staff inspector

Skills

  • You should be physically fit and in excellent health. Cultural sensitivity, patience, and mental stability are important. You must be resourceful, able to give and take orders, and able to make decisions quickly. Excellent communication, observation, and problem-solving skills are essential. You should also be able to communicate with and gain the respect of the public.

Job requirements

  • High school.
  • A university degree in the social sciences or in business administration.
  • Several years of experience as a police officer.

Other considerations

None

By the numbers

Quick look

< 50

employed in 2016

100.0%

employed full-time

0.0%

self employed

0.0%
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100%
Icons/male Created with Sketch.
51.7

median age

Compared to: All Management

44,250

employed in 2016

91.2%

employed full-time

18.9%

self employed

40.5%
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59.5%
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48.7

median age

Where will I likely work?

25.0%

Southern

N/A
25.0%

North Shore

N/A
25.0%

Cape Breton

N/A
25.0%

Halifax

N/A

Compared to: All NS Occupations

47.0%

Halifax

15.6%

North Shore

12.9%

Annapolis Valley

12.7%

Cape Breton

11.8%

Southern

Top Industries of Employment

100.0%

Public administration

What is the age of Employment?

50.0%

45-54

50.0%

55-64

Compared to: All Management

30.7%

45-54

23.1%

35-44

21.7%

55-64

14.0%

25-34

7.8%

65+

Top levels of education

75.0%

College Diploma

N/A

Compared to: All Management

27.2%

Bachelor

$71,875 median annual income
23.8%

High school

$42,294 median annual income
20.4%

College Diploma

$50,256 median annual income
9.1%

Master

$93,261 median annual income
7.2%

Trade Certification

$44,396 median annual income

Education & training

Business Administration and Management

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs prepare students to plan, organize, direct, and control the functions and processes of a firm or organization. They include courses in management theory, human resources management and behaviour, accounting and other quantitative methods, purchasing and logistics, organization and production, marketing, and business decision-making.

Institutions providing this program

Maritime Business College

Lower Sackville, NS

Academy of Learning Career College - Halifax

Halifax, NS

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS

Mount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, NS

Universite Sainte-Anne

Pointe-de-l'Église, NS

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, NS

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Cape Breton University

Sydney, NS

Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture

Truro, NS

Nova Scotia Community College

Various, NS

Business/Commerce

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs focus on the general study of business, including the processes of interchanging goods and services (buying, selling and producing), business organization, and accounting as used in profit-making and non-profit public and private institutions and agencies. They prepare students to apply business principles and techniques in various occupational settings.

Institutions providing this program

Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS

University of King's College

Halifax, NS

Universite Sainte-Anne

Pointe-de-l'Église, NS

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs preapre students to apply theories and practices of criminal justice to structuring, managing, directing and controlling criminal justice agencies, including police departments, law enforcement divisions and units, and protective services.

Institutions providing this program

Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS

Criminal Justice/Police Science

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs prepare students for the duties of police and public security officers, including patrol and investigative activities, traffic control, crowd control and public relations, witness interviewing, evidence collection and management, basic crime prevention methods, weapon and equipment operation and maintenance, report preparation and other routine law enforcement responsibilities.

Institutions providing this program

Ravensberg College

Halifax, NS

Halifax Regional Police Training School

Dartmouth, NS

Criminology

College or University Program

These programs focus on the systematic study of crime as a sociopathological phenomenon, the behaviour of criminals, and the social institutions evolved to respond to crime. They include courses in the theory of crime, psychological and social bases of criminal behaviour, social value systems and the theory of punishment, criminal law and criminal justice systems, penology, rehabilitation and recidivism, studies of specific types of crime, social attitudes and policy, and applications to specific issues in law enforcement administration and policy.

Institutions providing this program

Eastern College - Halifax

Halifax, NS

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs focus on applying the incident command system model to formulating and implementing effective response to natural and man-made disasters. They include courses in contingency planning, hazard and risk assessment, joint operations, law and ethics, emergency response and recovery, event mitigation, emergency rescue and medical operations, incident command, terrorism and national security issues, law enforcement, relief administration, volunteer and citizen coordination, public relations and applications to specific types of incidents.

Institutions providing this program

Cape Breton University

Sydney, NS

Nova Scotia Community College

Various, NS

Forensic Science and Technology

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs focus on applying the physical, biomedical, and social sciences to the analysis and evaluation of physical evidence, human testimony and criminal suspects. They include courses in forensic medicine, forensic dentistry, anthropology, psychology, pathology, forensic laboratory technology, crime scene analysis, fingerprint technology, document analysis, pattern analysis, examination procedures, applicable laws and regulations, and professional standards and ethics.

Institutions providing this program

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies

College or University Program

These programs focus on the dynamic social relations between and among majority and minority groups and different minority groups, and ways to promote mutual tolerance, inter-group cooperation, and the leadership and management of diverse groups and diversity issues in family, educational, recreational, and work settings. They include courses in ethnic and cultural studies, group psychology, sociology, anthropology, conflict resolution, human services and resources, and applications to various functional environments.

Institutions providing this program

Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution

College or University Program

These programs focus on the origins, resolution and prevention of international and inter-group conflicts. They include courses in peace research methods and related social scientific and psychological knowledge bases.

Institutions providing this program

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Employment requirements & contacts

No regulating bodies were found under this occupation profile

Contacts

Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Nova Scotia
Dartmouth, NS
Nova Scotia Department of Justice, Policing Services Division
Halifax, NS

Additional resources

There are no additional resources for this occupation.