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Trent University’s new policing degree for 2020 focuses on community well-being

A new policing degree from Trent University is the “only community-inclusive policing program of its kind in Canada,” claims the school, and will explore the economic, social and cultural features that shape our communities.

The Policing and Community Well-Being B.A., offered exclusively at Trent’s Durham GTA (Greater Toronto Area) campus, was created with the recognition that police services must evolve with the times and that keeping communities safe is a practice of collaboration and social awareness, according to Trent.

“The Policing and Community Well-Being degree is ground-breaking,” says Dr. Scott Henderson, dean and head of Trent University Durham GTA. “It not only deals with the academics of policing and of the social determinants of community health and well-being, it also explores solving community problems from both a police perspective and the perspective of other helping professionals.”

The school says this program equips graduates with the knowledge, leadership abilities and collaborative skills needed to address, reduce and prevent the incidence of crime and social disorder.

“This leading-edge degree was developed by a professional group that included practitioners and academics from policing, social work, social psychology and First Nations, and from fields like nursing and education,” says Peter Lennox, a retired police superintendent who spent 35 years with the Toronto Police Service. “I was excited and honoured to be part of that group, and I believe that the program it fostered will give graduates the skills, knowledge and experience they need for successful careers in human professions such as policing, corrections, social work and law.”

The hands-on courses are taught by professors, community partners and experts across the policing sector and beyond, while students also get an eight-month work placement with police services, hospitals and community organizations.

Though an interdisciplinary approach to learning, this program draws from a number of fields and expertise of faculty across multiple areas including Sociology, Nursing/Health, Social Work, Education, and Gender and Women’s Studies.

The location of this degree is also a benefit. Available at Trent University’s Durham GTA campus in Oshawa, Ont., the Policing & Community Well-being B.A. gives students “the best of best of both worlds: a close-knit community of scholars in a thriving urban environment, linked to Canada’s largest city.”

Applications for the Policing & Community Well-being B.A. program are now being accepted for September 2020.

To learn more about the program, visit Trent University Durham GTA Fall Open House on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. or visit trentu.ca/durham/policing.