Charlottetown police offering free tuition to some cadets, but there's a 5-year catch

Four police cadets will have their tuition covered by a new sponsorship program being offered through Charlottetown Police Services, the city's interim police chief says. 

The sponsorship will cover the cost of tuition at the Atlantic Police Academy, amounting to about $32,900 per year, said Jennifer McCarron. 

"Our numbers are low and we can fit it in our budget to actually send them to the academy this year," McCarron said. 

The police service will pays the tuition cost upfront, and the province will reimburse the cost when the cadets graduate from the 32-week program, she said. 

Those cadets won't have to pay back any of the money as long as they graduate from the program and commit to serving with the Charlottetown police force for five years, McCarron said. 

The police service will begin screening its applications in early October, with the cadets set to begin at the academy in January 2026. 

An information session with more details is scheduled for August 6 at the Murchison Centre on St. Pius X Avenue off St. Peters Road. 

The City of Summerside already has a sponsorship program in place to send cadets to the Atlantic Police Academy. 

McCarron said this kind of sponsorship program is the new normal for police academy admissions in Atlantic Canada. 

According to the Atlantic Police Academy's website, the recommended pathway to admissions is by applying through a police agency in one of the Atlantic provinces. 

Charlottetown police use the same standards and application process as the academy, McCarron said, noting that the main difference for the local police service is that it takes a more active role in recruiting and doing background checks. 

She said getting to see and meet the applicants before they start to go through the program is an advantage for the city's police force. 

"It used to be [that] we wouldn't meet them until they were here for on-the-job training. This way, we get to meet them, get to know them a bit through this whole process, and we kind of know what we're getting when they graduate," she said. 

Charlottetown's police service has faced challenges keeping its numbers up, McCarron said, noting that it's part of a larger trend.