High school students with an interest in law enforcement Can Join London Police at their Headquarters for their upcoming Youth in Policing Information Sessions. These information sessions are for students between 15 and 18 and can lead to a possible summer internship with the LPS.
These information sessions allow students to ask questions about the program and learn a little more about our police force. Last year the information sessions had 180 students turn out and 20 were selected to participate in the YIPI program.
YIPI program students
(Credit LPS Twitter)
“We brought about the information sessions last year to introduce students to the YIPI program, the youth and policing initiative program that’s funded by the Ministry. We host that program from July to the end of August every year, and it is for students who are between the ages of 15 and 18 years old.”
Constable Piening is a member of the LPS. Peining and her partner are the facilitators for the YIPI Program and set the schedules that the students follow. They take students with an interest in policing out into the community to get some experience in the field.
The YIPI program is an eight-week paid internship that runs from July to August. The program focuses on professional, personal development, and community engagement.
These information sessions allow students to ask questions about the program and learn a little more about London’s Police Force.
“It’s a fun program. We have never had anybody complain about the program, saying it’s boring and it allows them to see that there is a job position for them as a student in the summer. So it’s not necessarily a job at McDonald’s or landscaping. It opens up a lot of opportunities in the London community.”
After the sessions are concluded, applicants must go through a scored interview process, with selections based on interview performance rather than solely on application details.
“The criteria is basically set through the ministry, so the ages are between 15 and 18. You have to not obviously have a criminal record. You may want to have an interest in policing, but it’s not necessary, we don’t use it as a recruitment tool. By all means, if students are interested in policing, it just makes that transition and the opportunity that much more.”
“We focus on the diverse youth as well. There is a component from the ministry that speaks to the diverse or at risk youth that’s a big umbrella for at risk youth. We don’t focus in or hone in on just the specifics of the at risk if they disclose in their interview, because they have to do an interview that they are from a single family, or grow up in a neighborhood that has a high rate of crime or that type of stuff, and if they’re willing to share that, then that’s great.”
The first information session is scheduled for December 14th, providing insights into the program’s activities and expectations.
