As the Managing Director of anEDGE, a company that coaches and mentors applicants for all police service departments, I am often asked questions about the interview process and the format of various police
departments. The Toronto Police Service Interview process is frequently asked about.
I know that departments strive to find the right fit between candidates and roles, which is critical for a police position. The Toronto Police Service is no different. History has taught us that many people have the technical skills to perform policing functions. Still, Police Service Departments aim to hire individuals who can adapt to their specific culture and align with the modern approach to policing.
As a coach and mentor for many applicants, I believe in the mantra: Your education and life experiences are critical, but your interview and communication skills will land you the job. Like many Canadian police force interviews, the Toronto Police Service Interview employs a competency-based selection method.
A competency-based interview (also known as a behavioural interview) is a type of interview in which candidates are asked to provide specific examples of past experiences that demonstrate their ability to perform
specific job-related tasks or exhibit particular skills. The underlying belief is that your past behaviour best predicts your future performance.
As a company, we have been coaching and mentoring applicants to successful applications for many years. We know that interviews can be stressful, so this blog is here to help you better prepare for your interview. If you need coaching during your Toronto Police Service interview, contact us.
So, let’s look at a few key concepts you must understand as you prepare for your Toronto Police Service Interview:
- How a competency-based interview is conducted.
- What to expect during the process.
- How to prepare for your interview.
Competency-based interviewing focuses on what you’ve done in the past, as it’s the best way to predict what you’ll do in the future. During the Toronto Police Service interview, you will be asked to share specific situations from your recent work, volunteer, school, or personal life experiences (ideally within the past two years). These stories should show behaviours linked to the skills needed for success in the role you're applying for.
Two Key Parts of the Toronto Police Service Interview:
There are two parts to the Toronto Police Service Interview: 1) the Local Focus interview and 2) the Competency-Based Interview (ECI). I will touch on both of these separately.
1) Local Focus Interview (LFI)
In this part, the interviewer will ask about your work history and assess your knowledge of the Toronto Police Service.
During your Toronto Police Service interview, you might or could be asked questions like:
- Tell me about yourself.
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What do you know about the Toronto Police Service?
- Who is the Chief of Police?
- How many divisions/districts are there?
- What is our police jurisdiction?
You might also be asked to reflect on social issues such as:
- Truth and Reconciliation
- Violence on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
- Anti-Black Racism
- The Missing and Missed Persons Report
- Housing and homelessness
- Hate crimes and hate incidents
The second part of the Toronto Police Services Interview is the Competency-based portion.
2) Competency-Based Interview (ECI)
This is the “story-telling” part of the interview. It would be best to practice telling the interviewer a story, as you’ll be asked to share stories from the past two to three years related to specific skills needed for the role.
The Toronto Police Service interviewer will use the STAR method: they will ask you to describe the:
- Situation
- Task
- Actions you took
- Result.
So, what exactly is the STAR process needed to grasp during the Toronto Police Service Interview?
The STAR interview format is a structured method for answering behavioural interview questions. As I mentioned, the STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result, outlining the framework for crafting
responses. Behavioral questions typically begin with phrases like “Describe a time when,” “What would you do if,” or “Give an example of,” and are designed to evaluate how candidates handle every day or difficult workplace
situations.
These questions allow departments like Toronto Police Services to gauge whether candidates have relevant experience managing challenges they may face in the role. Police Departments often design their questions based on essential skills or behaviours they want to hear in the answers. It’s important to share stories about where you were directly involved. Focus on what you did, said, thought, and felt, as the interviewer will be looking to understand your behaviour.
At anEDGE, our Interview coaches coach applicants to speak in the first person (I), as the interviewer will need to know your role precisely. To prepare, it’s helpful to review the competencies listed by the Ontario Association Chiefs of Police (OACP). This will help you decide which stories to share that demonstrate these skills. Here, anEDGE Mentors can help you develop robust examples from your experience to showcase
yourself about the Toronto Police Service Interview competencies.
Preparing for Your Toronto Police Service Competency Interview:
1. Review the OACP competencies.
2. Think of situations where you’ve showcased these competencies.
3. Have a few examples ready for each.
4. Write down how you would describe each situation.
5. You will be asked to share examples for many of the OACP competencies, so try to prepare examples for all of them.
6. While you don’t need to memorize your answers, organizing your thoughts is helpful.
Essential Competencies Interview (ECI)
For this part of the interview:
- Talk about situations you’ve been involved in over the past three years.
- Speak in the first person (“I did this, I felt that…”).
- Be ready to show past behaviours that fit the mindset of a Police Constable.
- Your examples should come from work, school, or community settings.
- Be ready with three examples for each of the six OACP competencies.
- You’ll summarize the event, and if it fits, you’ll be asked to provide more details. If not, you’ll be asked for a different example.
Here are the definitions of the OACP competencies that the Toronto Police Services Interview focuses on:
1. Resilience: The ability to recover from challenging situations and keep a positive outlook.
2. Teamwork: Working well with others to help the team reach its goals.
3. Communication: Showing good listening, understanding, and clear speaking or writing
4. Problem Solving: Finding solutions, acting on them, and checking how they work.
5. Leadership: Guiding and motivating others to reach a shared goal.
6. Inclusivity: Recognizing the value of diversity and working with cultural awareness.
These competencies will be asked as behavioural interview questions, which should be answered in the STAR format. Proper preparation is the key to success in not only the Toronto Police Service Interview process but any Police department you are interviewing with.
If you need Toronto Police Service interview coaching or guidance, contact us at anEDGE using this link.