Charlottetown police offer free tuition to some cadets amid nationwide policing shortage

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 16, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Four constabulary cadets volition person their tuition covered by a caller sponsorship programme being offered done Charlottetown Police Services, the city's interim constabulary main says. 

The sponsorship volition screen the outgo of tuition astatine the Atlantic Police Academy, amounting to astir $32,900 per year, said Jennifer McCarron. 

"Our numbers are debased and we tin acceptable it successful our fund to really nonstop them to the academy this year," McCarron said. 

The constabulary work volition pays the tuition outgo upfront, and the state volition reimburse the outgo erstwhile the cadets postgraduate from the 32-week program, she said. 

Those cadets won't person to wage backmost immoderate of the wealth arsenic agelong arsenic they postgraduate from the programme and perpetrate to serving with the Charlottetown constabulary unit for 5 years, McCarron said. 

The constabulary work volition statesman screening its applications successful aboriginal October, with the cadets acceptable to statesman astatine the academy successful January 2026. 

An accusation league with much details is scheduled for August 6 astatine the Murchison Centre connected St. Pius X Avenue disconnected St. Peters Road. 

An vantage for section police

The City of Summerside already has a sponsorship programme successful spot to nonstop cadets to the Atlantic Police Academy. 

The archetypal iteration of the programme was city-sponsored, providing cadets with partial tuition sum and a paid summertime occupation placement, said Summerside police Chief Jason Blacquiere. 

Now, with the province's support, the programme covers the full outgo of tuition for selected cadets, helium said. 

"We've asked radical done our interrogation process wherefore they didn't spell through... academy grooming before, and outgo was astir ever cited arsenic a large factor," helium said. 

"With this sponsorship concern with the state and the city, it's been a existent boon for us." 

While the programme is inactive comparatively new, Blacquiere said it's showing promising results truthful far. 

"Any clip you're recruiting and grooming your ain from your ain country and you person radical committed to your assemblage and your constabulary service, it's a bully thing," helium said. 

McCarron said this kind of sponsorship program is the caller mean for constabulary academy admissions successful Atlantic Canada. 

According to the Atlantic Police Academy's website, the recommended pathway to admissions is by applying done a constabulary bureau successful 1 of the Atlantic provinces. 

Charlottetown constabulary usage the aforesaid standards and exertion process arsenic the academy, McCarron said, noting that the main quality for the section constabulary work is that it takes a much progressive relation successful recruiting and doing inheritance checks. 

She said getting to spot and conscionable the applicants earlier they commencement to spell done the programme is an vantage for the city's constabulary force. 

"It utilized to beryllium [that] we wouldn't conscionable them until they were present for on-the-job training. This way, we get to conscionable them, get to cognize them a spot done this full process, and we benignant of cognize what we're getting erstwhile they graduate," she said. 

Nationwide shortages

Charlottetown's constabulary work has faced challenges keeping its numbers up, McCarron said, noting that it's portion of a larger trend. 

"Every constabulary department across Canada has a shortage. Policing is not arsenic charismatic arsenic it utilized to be, truthful present we person to attract," she said. 

While status is typically the main crushed officers permission the Charlottetown police, McCarron said the section unit besides mislaid 8 radical to the RCMP in the past year.

She said Charlottetown tries to rotate its existent officers betwixt divisions wrong the unit to springiness them a accidental to effort antithetic things passim their careers. 

While the caller sponsorship programme is chiefly focused connected recruitment, determination are besides retention benefits, she said. 

"It besides helps older officers arsenic well, erstwhile younger officers start, due to the fact that they person antithetic points of view," McCarron said. 

"We person officers that person been present for 25, 30 years.… When you enactment them with a cadet, they larn conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic a cadet does."