By Philip Croucher

Whether working as a retail loss prevention officer for Canadian Tire or with an armoured truck company like Brinks, the Private Policing and Asset Protection program offered at the Atlantic Police Academy gives students the skills to tackle professions in the security field.

The program, with an enrolment of up to 40, prepares students to work in security at a government agency or a private company. They learn skills like proper protection of a crime scene, and execution of surveillance techniques and asset protection.

Graduates work at varied occupations as private officers with law firms, computer companies, manufacturing plants, night clubs and as prisoner transporters. Recently the class handled security for the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown.

Academy manager Dave Carty says there's a high demand from companies looking for people to protect their assets. "Private industry has seen an increasing need to have highly-trained people carry out a police-like function, where the public police doesn't have the staff to offer the level of protection the companies want," Carty says. "The students are learning what their responsibilities are going to be there and what they are supposed to do."

Students need to know their limits are within the law as private officers don't follow the same rules as public police. A private officer is a citizen and can't exceed the law when making an apprehension.

"A private police officer doesn't have any more powers than you or I, except that they will know what their authorities are while a citizen would not," Carty says. "They can only make an arrest when they see the person commit the crime, and when making an arrest, they can use as much force as necessary, but not excessive."

Carty says it's vital for private officers to have first-aid and firefighting skills, because they are usually first on the scene.

Private policing student Dana Aylward says the class is giving her a hands-on approach to the profession which can't be found through university. She says her four-week work term in St. John's at a sheriff's department really opened her eyes to the field.

"When I first got there, it was complete amazement," says Aylward, who received the Partners in Value Student Bursary for her class. "You don't know what it is like to be in law enforcement until you cuff real people who commit real crimes."

"When you are practising your cuffing techniques or your control tactics, you are doing it on your friends, so you don't really realize what it is like until you get out there."

She also says a classroom is not the place to learn what it's like to actually be involved in a trial and to witness the grief of both the victim's and the families.

During her class time at the institute, Aylward says a significant fundamental is communication, an important component to the work world.

"You deal a lot with the public, so communication is a big key," says the native of Newfoundland. "It's also a lot about teamwork, as we all have to pull together."

"It's different personalities, but in the end, we all have to combine and work together as one."

The class is also a good way of learning the law and Aylward hopes it will be a stepping stone for a career in criminology.

"This was just a starter course, sort of an eye-opener to law," explains Aylward. "I am going to pursue the policing world, but I just don't know in what field yet."