BURST
Retired Staff Sgt. Cam Lawson missed the breeze in a patrol car, the thrill of a chase, and the rush of moments most people only see on TV. After more than three decades with the Vancouver Police Department, he didn’t step away for long.
Six months after he retired, he has returned to the force through the VPD’s new retired police officer program, which allows eligible retirees to take on operational policing roles or to patrol District 5, a newly created unit covering the Downtown Eastside area, including Gastown, Chinatown and Hastings Crossing.
For Lawson, the motivation wasn’t the $176,580 annual salary, which reflects a bump in pay since returning officers don’t receive pension benefits or the competitive benefits.
“I was financially stable enough to stay retired, but it was the work itself that brought me back,” he said in a VPD social media video, recalling the thrill of pulling a suspect from a sinking van after the person fled police following the looting of a yacht at Stanley Park marina. Lawson originally retired in May 2025.
“If the public knew how fun this job is, they wouldn’t pay us to do it,” he added. “Emotionally, I was never really ready to do it (retire). I still like being a police officer.”
The program, launched in November 2025, has so far brought back three retired officers. One is assigned to an operational unit, while the other two patrol District 5. The district builds on the city’s earlier $5 million Task Force Barrage initiative, aimed at tackling organized crime.
The timing comes as VPD overtime costs jumped from $26 million in 2022 to $39 million last year, which the Vancouver police board has attributed to a shortage of recruits from the Justice Institute of B.C.
In recent months, the VPD’s recruitment division has been actively seeking officers from across the province — including Kelowna and Kamloops — and as far east as Toronto, advertising positions on social media to fill the staffing shortage.
“Recently retired from policing? The VPD needs you,” one of the posts reads.
On Wednesday, Chief Steve Rai posted a photo of Lawson on patrol, writing, “VPD retired officers are back on patrol in the Downtown Eastside.” He urged recently retired officers to apply.
Criminologist Rick Parent said the launch of the new program signals broader recruitment challenges facing police services across Canada.
“It’s a sign of the times,” said Parent, a retired officer from the Delta Police Department and professor at Simon Fraser University.
While policing was once widely seen as a stable career with good pay and benefits, Parent said the job’s risks and growing public scrutiny have made it less attractive to potential recruits. He also pointed to a series of high-profile incidents in recent years, including the killing of multiple Canadian police officers in the line of duty, which may discourage some young people from entering the profession.
“There’s a small pool of people to recruit from,” Parent said. “All police agencies are competing for the same candidates.”
Aside from officers who retire each year, Parent said police forces have also lost many long-serving officers who once formed the backbone of departments.
“Those core staff who used to stay for 30 to 50 years are not really there anymore,” he said.
Some newer recruits remain in policing for only a few years before leaving the profession or transferring to other departments, while others move to private-sector security jobs that can offer higher pay and fewer public pressures, Parent added.
Programs that bring retired officers back can help departments maintain temporary staffing levels, he said, but they are unlikely to solve long-term recruitment challenges.
“It’s a short-term fix,” said Parent.
Earlier this month, Vancouver city council approved $1.2 million for a VPD-run police training academy in a recently vacated retail space in the Woodward’s building near the Downtown Eastside.
When a motion was passed to establish the site, Coun. Brian Montague, a retired VPD officer, said a local training academy is needed to address “chronic staffing pressures” within the department due to a lack of recruits. Montague is a member of Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver party, which campaigned on increasing police numbers to improve public safety. The plan received provincial approval last week.
But the Justice Institute recently said it has expanded its training capacity and will exceed the provincial demand for municipal police recruits by May 2026.
“Given the $1.2 million start-up costs VPD is requesting funding for, we believe it is in the public interest for it to be known that we are meeting all police departments’ requests for training seats,” said institute spokesperson April van Ert.
Parent said a department-run academy in the city would help Vancouver police connect with potential young recruits in the community.
“It gives them more control over the process and the ability to build loyalty to the department,” said Parent.
Const. Megan Lui said there is no separate budget for the retired policing program.
“We have also received more expressed interest from past members and members who are about to retire,” Lui added.
Applicants need to be retired, recently retired, or a serving Canadian police officer within the last three years. They must have completed recognized police training at a Canadian academy and meet all VPD onboarding conditions, including a medical exam. Officers currently under disciplinary investigation are not eligible.
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