Vancouver Councillor Proposes $4M Police Academy to Address Training Shortage
Warning that a provincewide training bottleneck is severely impacting Vancouver's ability to deploy police officers effectively, city councillor Brian Montague is advancing a $4-million proposal to establish a Vancouver Police Department-operated training academy within the former Woodward's complex. The motion, scheduled for Wednesday's council meeting, directly responds to what Montague describes as "chronic staffing pressures" within the VPD that have led to escalating operational challenges.
Addressing Provincial Training Limitations
Currently, municipal police recruits across British Columbia receive their training at the Justice Institute of B.C. in New Westminster, with each recruit costing approximately $50,000 on average. Montague, a retired VPD officer and member of Mayor Ken Sim's ABC Vancouver party, argues that the number of available seats at JIBC no longer meets the growing demand from independent municipal police services throughout the province. This training limitation has created significant bottlenecks that delay the deployment of new officers to Vancouver streets.
The proposal specifically targets the former London Drugs store space inside the Woodward's building, which became vacant in February after the retailer ended its 17-year tenancy. London Drugs cited ongoing vandalism, theft, violence against employees and customers, and sharply rising costs as reasons for the closure. This departure left a substantial 27,000-square-foot vacancy in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood, where vacancy rates are approximately three times higher than the citywide average.
Financial and Operational Pressures
The push for a dedicated VPD training academy comes amid concerning financial trends within the police department. VPD overtime costs have surged dramatically from $26 million in 2022 to $39 million last year, representing a substantial increase that strains municipal resources. During a police board meeting last fall, VPD Chief Steve Rai and Police Board Chair Frank Chong directly attributed this overtime spike to insufficient numbers of JIBC-trained recruits available for deployment.
While JIBC expressed disappointment at these comments and noted it had expanded its intake capacity by fifty percent with additional provincial funding, Montague's proposal argues that an in-house academy would provide more sustainable solutions. The motion states that establishing a VPD-run facility would "increase annual recruit training capacity, improve operational flexibility, reduce reliance on external facilities, and support long-term cost efficiencies through reduced overtime and scheduling pressures."
Complementary Approach to Police Training
Importantly, the proposed satellite police academy is designed to "complement rather than displace" the existing JIBC model. By creating additional training capacity specifically for Vancouver police recruits, the academy would theoretically free up spots at JIBC for other municipal police departments across British Columbia. This approach aims to address the provincial training shortage while providing Vancouver with greater control over its police recruitment and training timelines.
The historic Woodward's department store, located at Abbott Street and West Hastings Street, underwent significant redevelopment between 2006 and 2010 as part of municipal efforts to revitalize the Downtown Eastside. After the city purchased the site in 2003, construction transformed the former department store into a mixed-use complex that opened in 2010 with residential units and retail space. The proposed police academy would represent a new chapter in the building's adaptive reuse history.
Montague's political affiliation with Mayor Ken Sim's ABC Vancouver party adds context to the proposal, as the party campaigned explicitly on increasing public safety through boosting municipal police numbers. The $4-million academy plan represents a concrete step toward fulfilling that campaign promise while addressing what police leadership has identified as critical operational challenges stemming from training limitations and staffing shortages.
