BURST
A surge in demand for police recruits has lead to provincial approval of two new training academies, one in Vancouver, the other in Greater Victoria.
However, the province said Friday the sites will operate under the oversight of the Justice Institute of B.C., the only police academy in the province, and have been initially approved to operate for two years. One will train officers for the Vancouver Police Department, the other for municipal forces on southern Vancouver Island.
The Justice Institute was already scaling up to train cohorts of up to 144, three times a year.
Municipal police in B.C. forces have been dealing with a shortage of training spaces as they hire during a wave of retirements exacerbated by the training demands as the new Surrey Police Service comes up to strength.
“We are ensuring that police departments have the well-trained officers they need on the ground to keep people and businesses safe in communities across the province,” said Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger.
“A Vancouver and Victoria-based police training site builds on our $4-million investment to expand seat capacity at the Justice Institute. … Together, these initiatives will ensure that the surge in municipal recruit training demands throughout British Columbia are fully met, now and into the future.”
The new sites will be paid for by the involved police forces, which have been paying about $50,000 for every recruit trained at the Justice Institute campus in New Westminster. The VPD wants to use the former London Drugs store in Gastown’s Woodward’s building for its academy.
The satellite sites, expected to open later this year, will operate under Justice Institute oversight, to ensure consistent curriculum and training outcomes, Krieger said.
“Municipal police chiefs across B.C. view these temporary satellite sites as a practical way to increase training capacity in response to unprecedented hiring pressures, while working alongside the existing provincial training framework and ensuring consistent standards,” said Delta Chief Harj Sidhu, president of the B.C. Association of Municipal Police Chiefs.
Terry Yung, MLA for Vancouver-Yaletown, lauded the measure.
“As a former Vancouver police officer and a JIBC board trustee, I know how important strong training is for the next generation of officers,” he said. “Expanding the JIBC police academy through a satellite training model is a major milestone for policing in B.C. … More officers can be trained and serving on the front lines sooner.