Aaron Tompkins, Community Services Award
Constable, Smiths Falls Police Service
Law & Security Administration, Class of 1994
Aaron Tompkins’ family is quick to remind him that his path to policing had been a long time coming.
“Ever since I was three or four –years old I was telling [my family] I want to be a police officer,” said Tompkins. “I remember playing cops and robbers when I was a small kid, and that never went away.”
Since joining the Smiths Falls Police Service (SFPS), Tompkins — now a constable — has taken the mantle of community service officer, by building relationships directly with the public through social media, membership on various local boards and direct initiatives through the SFPS. He spends much of his time volunteering with local organizations — such as Crime Stoppers, Special Olympics Ontario and the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank — and working on youth programs and events.
The purpose for all this community work, Tompkins said, is to build a bridge between the SFPS and the public, providing an avenue for both parties to communicate with one other.
“Enforcement is only about five per cent of policing, believe it or not,” said Tompkins. “The other 95 per cent of a police officer’s time is engaging with the public, foot patrols, lots of bike patrols, we’re in the school — our officers are visiting schools every day. Having that community profile and that engagement [helps the public] know us.”
Tompkins’ career path was not a straight line. While in Grade 12, he enlisted in the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment, a Canadian Army infantry reserve unit out of Pembroke. He credits the experience with instilling a post-high school sense of discipline. He then enrolled at Algonquin College’s Ottawa Campus to study Law and Security Administration, a precursor to the current Police Foundations program.
“I had great teachers that [had], at that time, just left policing, so they gave that firsthand knowledge and accountability about [what] the job is,” said Tompkins. “That kind of solidified it for me; I said ‘OK, I’ve always wanted to do this, I’ve taken the schooling and now I want it even more.’”
After graduating in the mid-’90s, he realized there were few policing jobs available. He worked at a men’s clothing store and in the financial sector for a while, keeping in touch with peers who had started their policing careers and learning from their experiences. He never gave up on his dream — steadily sending resumés to various police forces and accumulating a growing stack of rejections.
“I remember sitting at my desk and looking out the window, saying, ‘This isn’t for me. I want to be out there.’ Always yearning for that freedom and not knowing what the next call would be.”
At the time, the necessary testing requirements to become an officer were valid for three years.
“I had a lot of noes … a lot of resumés being sent back,” he said. “[Eventually] I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to give one last crack at it, I’m not too old yet.’ So, I applied [to the testing requirements] at 27 and passed all the pre-requirements to apply.”
The result of his “last crack at it” was obtaining part-time volunteer work with the Ontario Provincial Police’s auxiliary unit— a section of the force that aids regular officers and community initiatives — in 2003. The experience bolstered his policing resumé and his drive to work full-time in uniform.
It wasn’t until 2004 — a full decade after he graduated from the College — that Tompkins finally got the call to service. He has been a police officer in Smiths Falls for more than 18 years now, the last five as the department’s community service officer.
And while the young boy who fantasized about police work likely never considered that his dream job would involve sitting in board meetings and planning softball tournaments, Tompkins said that helping to foster community is everything he could ask for.
“[Despite] not knowing fully what the role was when I went into it, I’ve learned so much,” he said. “Building those community partnerships is probably the most favourite thing that I’ve done.”
A big part of a community service officer’s job is youth outreach — familiarizing kids with the people in uniform and trying to build a positive relationship right out of the gate. Events like a Canada Day bicycle decorating contest, where dozens of kids dress up their bikes and receive prizes from officers, are designed to foster that positive perception. An annual SFPS campaign in July is based on “positive” ticketing, where officers give snack coupons to young cyclists for proper helmet use. This campaign, according to Tompkins, often leads to groups of kids approaching the officers for their coupons.
“My goal, and the way I think every police service should [ac]), is to target youth — as many as possible — to have let’s say 100 positive experiences with a police officer,” he said. “They might have had two or three negative interactions — maybe there’s a domestic in the house or something bad has happened — and then, if that’s the only interaction they’ve had with the police, as adults they may have a negative connotation [towards] police. So, if we can tilt that scale … that’s, I would say, one of my primary goals and focus.”
Beyond his work as an officer and community advocate, Tompkins also frequently returns to Algonquin College to help nurture the next generation of police officers. He played a hand in building a partnership between the SFPS and the Perth Campus’ Police Foundations program, a relationship that sees students gain required volunteer experience through activities like helping with SFPS events. Additionally, Tompkins visits classrooms and gives presentations on the day-to-day of a police constable and he was invited to join the Police Foundations Program Advisory Committee.
“We go in there and say, ‘This is what you can truly expect.’ I wish I had had that conversation with a police officer before I got hired because it’s a night and day difference from what you think it is to what you’re walking into,” said Tompkins. “I’m very honest and upfront and say, ‘Plan on working your kid’s birthdays, Christmases, stuff like that,’ because that’s all stuff we have to do. You work nights, you work shift work, it’s hard on your body … .”
In addition to the College’s 2022 Alumni of Distinction Award, Tompkins’ work as an officer and in the community has earned him the 2019 Crime Stoppers Police Coordinator Achievement Award and the 2022 Harry DeJong Award from the Police Association of Ontario, as well as nominations for the Association’s 2021 and 2022 Police Hero of the Year Awards.
“It’s making those small differences,” he said. “That’s my ultimate goal, is just to make a positive influence on our community and any organization I’m involved with.”