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\nMayor Ken Sim during a tour Sept. 10 of the VPD’s new training academy in the Woodward’s building in the Downtown Eastside. | Photo Mike Howell <\/p>\n
When Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver colleagues launched their election campaign in 2022, they made a bold promise to hire 100 police officers and 100 nurses.<\/p>\n
Three weeks after Sim and his ABC majority council were sworn in November 2022, they unlocked $16 million in the city\u2019s 2023 operating budget to help fund the party\u2019s campaign promise.<\/p>\n
This is what ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung, whose partner is a retired Vancouver police officer, said at the time: \u201cYou cannot put a price on public safety, and you cannot put a price on mental health and wellness. And we cannot afford not to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, the Vancouver Police Department has hired a total of 408 officers between November 2022 and Sept. 15, 2026, according to data provided to Business in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
During that period, an additional eight officers returned to the department from secondment to other agencies, said Sgt. Adam Donaldson, a VPD media liaison officer, in an email.<\/p>\n
At the same time, 319 officers retired or left the department for other reasons.<\/p>\n
Donaldson said that leaves the VPD with a net gain of 97 officers, which includes 40 recruits sworn in Sept. 11 at the department\u2019s new training academy in the Woodward\u2019s building.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis number routinely fluctuates, depending on attrition and officers hired throughout the year,\u201d Donaldson said.<\/p>\n
\nMayor Ken Sim during a tour Sept. 10 of the VPD’s new training academy in the Woodward’s building in the Downtown Eastside. | Photo Mike Howell
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‘We absolutely love you’<\/p>\n
The VPD officially\u00a0opened the academy<\/a> two weeks ago at an event where Sim spoke to more than 300 people, many of whom were police officers.<\/p>\n During his campaign-style speech, he said: \u201cWe hired 175 additional police officers.\u201d<\/p>\n Donaldson explained the numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 175-figure referenced refers to the number of officers [roughly] hired between the end of 2022 and beginning of 2024,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sim\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment on why he cited that period.<\/p>\n VPD data shows its current authorized strength is 1,452 officers, an increase of 104 officers since 2022.<\/p>\n Some of the officers hired came from other departments. They received $10,000 signing bonuses through a program that remains active.<\/p>\n Near the close of his speech at the training academy, Sim praised the work of VPD officers.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve said this numerous times, but you do an incredible job, an incredibly difficult job that very few people can do, and even fewer are willing to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou run into danger on a daily basis to keep us safe. And so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice. We absolutely love you.\u201d<\/p>\n VPD budget at $497.1 million<\/p>\n A report going before the Vancouver Police Board Sept. 17 says the VPD’s 2026 net operating budget is $497,111,673, representing an increase of $50,013,583 (11.19 per cent) over the 2025 adjusted budget.<\/p>\n \u201cThe increase was driven primarily by fixed and contractual wage obligations arising out of the Vancouver Police Union collective bargaining settlement, external agency levy increases, third-party contracts, year 2 implementation of the Body-Worn Camera (BWC) project, and funding to address the VPD\u2019s ask to fund long-standing under budgeted items and inflationary pressures,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n The VPD operated in 2023 with a budget of $373.5 million.<\/p>\n ‘Challenges with hiring capacity’<\/p>\n ABC\u2019s promise to hire 100 nurses was not met, according to a City of Vancouver staff memo sent to council July 2.<\/p>\n The memo said that as of June 1, 41.5 out of 47.5 full-time equivalent positions funded by the city have been recruited for what is called the Urgent Mental Health and Substance Use Service Enhancements program.<\/p>\n Sim and other ABC members have attributed the nurse shortfall to jurisdiction and expertise during previous council debates and scrums with reporters.<\/p>\n The mayor has said that Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is the expert agency when it comes to setting up mental health teams. Council\u2019s role was to unlock the money\u2014an estimated $8 million per year\u2014and allow VCH to build the program.<\/p>\n VCH reduced the number of staff required to 58<\/a>, then to 55, then to 47.5\u2014with the health authority emphasizing the need to have people with a variety of skills connected to the teams, not just nurses.<\/p>\n \u201cVCH continues to recruit, implement the program and refine service delivery, as well as engage in ongoing program evaluation,\u201d said the memo authored by Margaret Wittgens, the city\u2019s general manager of arts, culture and community services.<\/p>\n \u201cReflecting the challenges with hiring capacity and labour market availability, the program was phased in over subsequent years.\u201d<\/p>\n Psychiatric nurses diverting police calls<\/p>\n The program comprises psychiatric nurses working in the VPD\u2019s command centre, mobile de-escalation teams, an Indigenous crisis response team and expansion of the police-nurse Car 87\/88 teams.<\/p>\n Three physicians work with two of the teams.<\/p>\n Wittgens said the program supported 2,435 Vancouver residents in 2025, \u201ccreating safe diversion from police services to appropriate healthcare resources with expanded options for crisis response.\u201d<\/p>\n In a presentation to city council in October 2025, VCH staff provided the following highlights of the program:<\/p>\n \u2022 A total of 546 visits by Indigenous crisis response team from April to June, supporting 57 active clients with what VCH staff described as \u201cculturally grounded care.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 The mobile de-escalation team expanded to seven days a week, improving outreach and follow-up care, with emergency visits reduced by 38 per cent post-intervention.<\/p>\n \u2022 Nurses in VPD command centre diverted 1,192 calls between January and July to health-care response.<\/p>\n \u2022 Car 87\/88 teams served 6,701 people in 2024. The teams located 1,530 people who were assessed and left in their own care. Another 1,515 people were assessed and hospitalized.<\/p>\n![\"vpdcommcentre\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vpdcommcentre.jpg;w=960.jpeg\"\/)
\nThe Vancouver Police Department operates a command centre inside the Cambie Street precinct. | Photo Mike Howell
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