Who runs policing in Vancouver: the police board, the council's budget vote and the provincial referee

Vancouver's police force is paid for out of the city budget, and the council elected on October 17 will vote on that budget. Day to day, though, the Vancouver Police Department answers to a separate body, the Vancouver Police Board. The Province can fill up to 7 of its 9 seats. This guide sets out who sits on the board, what council and the mayor decide, how a budget dispute is settled, and where complaints go. The rules come from the BC Police Act, in its version current to September 22, 2026.

What the police board does

Section 26 of the Police Act says a municipal police board must set up the police department and appoint the chief constable, the other officers and the staff. Every officer and employee works for the board, and the department carries out its duties "under the direction of the municipal police board".

The board also sets the department's "priorities, goals and objectives", in consultation with the chief constable. When it does, section 26(4.1) says it must take into account two things: the priorities set by the provincial minister, and the priorities of the city council. Each year the chief constable reports to the board on progress.

Who sits on the board

Section 23(1) of the Police Act sets out the seats:

• 1 member of council, appointed by council,
• 1 other person, appointed by council, and
• up to 7 people appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, which means the provincial cabinet, after it consults the provincial director of policing.

That makes 9 seats at most. Section 23(1.1) says the second council appointee and the provincial appointees cannot be councillors, and must be people who would be eligible to be elected as a councillor.

Section 24 caps each term at 4 years. The councillor's seat ends if that person leaves council. Appointed members can be reappointed, but they cannot serve as appointed members for more than 6 years in a row.

The mayor's role changed in 2024

The Police Amendment Act, 2024 received assent on April 25, 2024. Section 36 of that Act replaced the first seat on the board with the words "a member of the council appointed by the council". Section 38 replaced the rule on the chair.

When the bill was introduced, the Union of BC Municipalities described it on April 10, 2024: "the mayor will no longer be automatically designated to serve on and chair the local police board." Council now chooses which of its members sits on the board.

Under the new section 25, the board elects a chair and a vice chair from its own members "once every 2 calendar years". The chair is a non-voting member, with one exception: in a tie, the chair casts the deciding vote.

Where the board's website and the law differ. The board's "Meet the Board" page still opens by saying the board "consists of the Mayor as Chair". That describes the rule before 2024. The same page, checked on September 29, 2026, lists 9 directors, with the mayor listed as a director and another member serving as chair. The Police Act is the authority.

If the councillor on the board leaves council after the election, section 24 ends that seat, and the new council appoints one of its members.

How the police budget works

Section 27 of the Police Act sets the timeline:

1. By November 30 each year, the board sends council a provisional budget for the next year.
2. By March 1 of the budget year, the board sends any changes.
3. If council does not approve an item or amount, it must tell the board. Either council or the board can then ask the provincial director of policing and law enforcement services to decide, before May 15.
4. If any item is still unapproved on May 15, council must ask the director to decide.

Council must then include the police budget in the city's budget, adjusted only for changes that both sides agreed to and for the director's decisions. When board members certify that a spending item is inside that budget, section 27(5) says "the council must pay the amount". The board cannot spend outside its budget unless council approves.

In short: council can question and refuse parts of the police budget, but a provincial official settles any disagreement.

When the route was used

This process has been used in Vancouver. On March 14, 2022, the Vancouver Police Department published a statement on what it called a "successful VPD budget appeal to Province of B.C." The statement said the Province had decided "to restore $5.7 million to the Vancouver Police Department's 2021 budget".

That dispute was about the 2021 budget and was settled in 2022. Section 27, as it reads today, sets May 15 of the budget year as the date by which any item council has not approved must go to the director.

Complaints about an officer

Complaints about the conduct of a municipal police officer go to the Police Complaint Commissioner. Section 78 of the Police Act lets a complaint be made:

• directly to the Police Complaint Commissioner, or
• at any municipal police station, where an officer on duty must record it, give you a written receipt and forward it.

Section 79 sets a time limit: within 12 months of the conduct. The commissioner can extend it for good reasons, if doing so is not against the public interest.

The commissioner's office says you can file online, by phone, by email, or in person at a police department. Its forms are in 13 languages. The office cannot investigate complaints about the RCMP; those go to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.

If a complaint about the chief constable is admissible, meaning the commissioner accepts it for handling, and is not settled through mediation or another informal route, section 91 says the commissioner must order an investigation by an officer from an outside police service, or by a special provincial constable named by the minister. An outside officer must have no connection with the complaint and must hold a rank equal to or higher than the chief constable's.

Complaints about the department as a whole

A complaint can also be about how the department as a whole is run. Section 168 calls this a service or policy complaint. It can cover staffing, training, policies, the department's ability to respond to calls for help, and its internal procedures.

You can make one to the commissioner, at a police station, or to the chair of the police board. Section 171 says the board must then decide what to do: ask the chief constable to investigate, start its own study or investigation, dismiss it on set grounds, or take other action. The board has 20 business days after acting to tell you, the director and the commissioner what it is doing.

What this means for your ballot

• The council you elect approves the police budget and chooses 2 of the board's members, one of them a councillor.
• The Province appoints the rest, and a provincial official settles budget disputes.
• The candidates' positions on public safety are on our candidates page and side by side on the compare page. Party platforms are on our parties page.

The BC Police Act and the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner have the final word on these rules. If anything here disagrees with bclaws.gov.bc.ca or opcc.bc.ca, those sources are correct.