---
title: "BC Conservatives promise 250 more police officers and end to open drug use in public safety plan"
description: "Lorne Doerkson announced the Conservative Party of BC's public safety platform on October 6, promising 250 new officers trained through JIBC, 500 more RCMP over five years, and amendments to the Mental Health Act to allow involuntary care."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/conservative-bc-public-safety-plan-october-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:06:57.221Z"
---

The Conservative Party of BC released its public safety platform on October 6, 2026, promising to end open drug use in public spaces and add hundreds of police officers and prosecutors. The announcement was made by party leader [Lorne Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson), as reported by Daily Hive Vancouver.

## The policing promises

According to Daily Hive Vancouver, the party says it would expand the Justice Institute of British Columbia Police Academy to hire and deploy 250 more police officers. The party also says it would add 500 RCMP officers and 150 civilian staff over five years, directing them to rural and regional communities.

On the courts side, the party promises to hire 50 new Crown prosecutors and work with Ottawa to fund 20 more trial judges. The party says this would prevent criminals from going free because of court delays.

## Drug use and mental health

The party says it would deploy more police to what it describes as the hardest-hit neighbourhoods to end open drug use. The platform also includes a proposal to amend the Mental Health Act so that police can connect people who have severe addiction, mental illness, or brain injury with involuntary care. The party calls this approach compassionate intervention.

Daily Hive Vancouver reports that the party pointed to B.C.'s drug decriminalization pilot, which ran from 2023 until the province reversed it in 2024. Under that program, anyone 18 or older could possess up to 2.5 grams of certain illicit drugs without arrest. The reversal, Daily Hive explains, gave police the power to enforce against drug use in public spaces.

## What other parties have said

Daily Hive notes that the BC Greens released their drug policy on October 2 with candidate Lisa Lapointe, the former chief coroner. Lapointe said the toxic drug crisis would only be addressed with regulated alternatives and accessible voluntary treatment. The BC NDP had not released a drug policy platform at the time of the Daily Hive report.

These are campaign promises. The Conservative Party of BC is in opposition. You can compare what each party has promised at [BC provincial parties](/bc/provincial-2026/parties). Voting day is October 24, 2026, with advance voting from October 16 to 21.

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