The Victoria Police Department (VicPD) is the municipal police force for the City of Victoria and the Township of Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest municipal police department in Canada west of the Great Lakes, the first Canadian law enforcement agency to deploy tasers and VicPD created the first digital forensic unit in the country. They are also one of the few police departments in Canada to use the G36 rifle.
VicPD is currently headed by Chief Del Manak, who took office on June 13, 2017.
History
Policing on Vancouver Island was conducted by the Victoria Voltigeurs. The Voltigeurs existed as an armed, uniformed militia that served all Vancouver Island on an "as and when needed" basis. It is thought that they were primarily of Metis background. Following the end of their service, in 1854 a single town constable (Thomas Hall) policed the early town core.
Shoulder flash prior to June 2010
On July 8, 1858, Vancouver Island Governor James Douglas appointed Augustus Pemberton as commissioner of police for the then-British colony. Policing in Victoria pre-dated the city's founding (1862). Pemberton's appointment was published locally on July 17, 1858. The Governor had enlisted ten Jamaican men from San Francisco to form a police force. They arrived in Fort Victoria in April 1858 aboard the steamship, Commodore. They wore simple blue wool uniforms with tall blue hats. A red sash denoted their authority. The force only lasted about two months and was disbanded because of the racial strife the men attracted.
The department was a shared Crown colony, province and city establishment through until the mid-1870s when control and oversight of the department was left with the young City of Victoria.
The VicPD honours the memory of five officers who have lost their lives serving the citizens of Greater Victoria; the first officer, Constable Johnston Cochrane, was murdered in 1859 and his death is marked as the first known law enforcement death in the Province of British Columbia. The most recent line of duty death was a motorcycle incident that caused the death of Constable Earle Doyle in 1959. The VicPD and their associated Victoria Police Historical Society placed a memorial cairn at their headquarters on Caledonia Avenue inscribing all five names.
Operations
The VicPD is a moderate sized police agency with two stations:
Main Headquarters Building in Victoria, 850 Caledonia Ave
West Division in Esquimalt - shared facility with Esquimalt Fire Department and former Township of Esquimalt Public Safety Building
Neighbourhood patrol areas are:
Esquimalt
Panhandle
Selkirk
Colville
Parklands
Rockheights
Devonshire
West Bay
Esquimalt Village
Saxe Point
Victoria
Burnside
Hillside/Quadra
North Park
Oaklands
Victoria West
Downtown
Harris Green
Fernwood
North Jubilee
Rockland
James Bay
Fairfield
Gonzales
Previous VicPD headquarters:
Fort Victoria
Victoria Voltigeurs Encampment at Swan Creek and Colquitz Creek area
The force also recruits reserve constables, otherwise known as "auxiliary constables".
Rank structure
Rank
Chief of police/chief constable
Deputy chief/deputy chief constable
Superintendent
Inspector
Staff sergeant
Insignia
Rank
Sergeant
Police constable 1st class/detective
Police constable 2nd class
Police constable 3rd class
Police constable 4th class (includes recruit constables)
Insignia
Integrated road safety unit (IRSU)
Four VicPD officers are seconded to the 15-member IRSU.[4] The IRSU is mandated as "providing intelligence led enforcement while targeting aggressive driving behaviors, reducing alcohol-related crashes, distracted driving and encouraging the use of seatbelts and front license plates." within the Capital Regional District.[5] This unit comprises officers from the Saanich Police Department, Victoria Police Department, Oak Bay Police Department, Central Saanich Police and the RCMP under an agreement with the BC Ministry of Public Safety and solicitor general and they patrol in specially marked cars and are able to enforce laws outside their municipal jurisdiction.
Museum
In late 2014, the onsite police museum at the Victoria police station Caledonia headquarters was closed. The 150 years of policing artifacts from the early days of British Columbia to recent times were moved into storage. The VicPD Hall of Honour, which celebrates the accomplishments of both sworn and civilian staff was created in its place. The Hall of Honour was officially opened to the public on September 29, 2015.
In literature
Victoria resident Stanley Evans has written a series of mysteries featuring a Coast Salish character, Silas Seaweed, who works as an investigator with the Victoria Police Department.[6]
